Right Before My Eyes
by KatyER2611
Summary: Taking right after season 1, Wyatt and Lucy's relationship begins to grow as Rittenhouse declares war on the Time Team. Sending them throughout time to face horrifying battles of the Civil War, survive the sinking of a well know doomed ship, brave the deadly snowstorms of Alaska, and encounter an unidentified serial killer.
1. Chapter 1

_Arthur's Note:_

 _Hi fellow Timeless fans and Fanfic writers! I am so excited to finally share my very first fanfic story of our show with you all. I also can't wait for season 2 to begin, SO EXCITED! I just have to say thank you to all of you wonderful writers whose stories have helped me get through this unbelievable long wait since season 1 ended. I mean, really, from the bottom of my heart because when the awful news of Timeless being cancelled came out, I was depressed. :(_ _But when the glorious news of it being renewed was announced, I was overjoyed!_

 _Anyway, after reading all of your fanfics, I started to come up with my own, and here we are. I hope you all enjoy!_

 _Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to Timeless. Those belong to NBC. So this story is purely from my own imagination._

* * *

Chapter 1

"Rittenhouse would never allow it…"

 _What? She couldn't have said—_

"How do you think I met your father…?"

 _No, it's not possible—_

"We both come from good, strong Rittenhouse families. And that almost makes you royalty…"

 _NO! Please stop!_

"As we speak, Rittenhouse has an operative on the Mothership. Soon, we will control everything; the past, and the present, the future. And together, we will change history."

Frantically backing away from her mother, Lucy felt the rise of a panic attack coming on; it seemed as if her whole world had collapsed. How could this be true? Her own _mother_ , Carol Preston, is a member of Rittenhouse?! It was one thing to find out that her biological father was involved, but this? She thought their fight against the evil, secret organization was over. All of the evidence Ethan Cahill, her grandfather, had kept and saved had already put a large number of members in prison. But now, it feels like the universe just jumped up and said _"Psych!"_ and a whole new wave of crap was thrown at them.

"Excuse me, sweetheart."

Lucy's head suddenly snapped up to see her mother taking out her ringing cell phone from her pocket and answered it with her back turned. "Is it done…? Good…you know where to go to first…"

The answer of who was on the other side of that conversation came to Lucy in an instance. So it was true, Rittenhouse has control of the Mothership. Suddenly she realized that her team needed to be warned about this new calamity. But how could she warn them when it felt as if her feet were glued to the floor? Just then her brain focused on the one word Harry Houdini himself taught her to think of when she was in a tight position: escape.

With great, painful effort, Lucy managed to slow down her racing heart beat and calmed her ragged breathing as she pulled out her phone from her purse. Quickly she dialed the number of the one person she trusted the most.

 _Wyatt? Pick up, pick up, pick up!_ She desperately thought to herself until she heard the tiny click in her ear. "Wyatt?!"

"Lucy?" his voice exclaimed with a mix of concern and relief. "Where are you? Are you okay?"

Lucy couldn't answer at first. Her head was still spinning uncontrollably. She struggled to address to the crisis at the hand before expelling a shaky exhale. "Oh, my God, Wyatt!" she cried in a hushed voiced, trying to be discreet from her mom in the other room. "It's not over! Everything we did—Rittenhouse, it's—we didn't stop them! Wyatt, they have the Mothership! What are we gonna do?"

"Lucy, calm down! Please tell me where you are."

"I'm…" she said slowly with her free hand pressed to the side of her head. "I'm at my mom's house. Wyatt, she's—"

"Lucy, please," Wyatt's voice interrupted, practically begging her to listen. "Are you okay? Where is your mom now?"

"I'm okay—I, I mean, I think…" Lucy struggled to swallow the lump in her throat as she tried to answer his next question.

Just then, the doorbell rang.

"He's here. Call me when you get back," her mother's voice announced.

"Lucy? Are you there?" Wyatt's voice called again.

"Y—Yes, I'm still here. Wyatt, I—"

The next thing Lucy heard was the front door opening and Carol's voice full of admiration. "Ah, the son of Rittenhouse."

 _The son of WHAT?!_

The phone nearly slipped out of Lucy's hand when she spun around in time to see her mom return followed by—

"Noah?"

* * *

Wyatt had been pacing around the conference room for thirty minutes after the given time Lucy said she'd be gone. His mind would not stop racing. She said she would be gone for an hour and come right back. They were going to go back to 1979 and make her mom and Henry Wallace fall in love and in doing so, bring back her sister. He knew Lucy wouldn't miss this for anything. She wanted to bring Amy back the moment she found out that she'd been erased from history. So where the hell was she?

He looked down at his phone again for the third time. No missed calls or texts.

 _Damn it!_ _Where are you, Lucy?_

Finally, not being able to take it any longer, he brought up her number on his phone and was about to hit the call button when the conference room door swung open and Agent Denise Christopher burst in; her usual no-nonsense expression was replaced with great concern.

"Wyatt, where's Lucy?" she demanded, slightly breathless.

"She said that she had to take care of something and be right back," Wyatt informed. Just by looking at Homeland Security agent, his gut was telling him that whatever she was about to tell him was not good. "Why, what's wrong?"

Denise gave an exasperated huff. "Mason and I just finished looking through Ethan Cahill's collective information about the top members of Rittenhouse and…"

" _And?"_

She hesitated at first but then looked straight at his face. "Carol Preston was on it, as one of the high leaders."

Wyatt's stomach dropped. "You mean—"

"Lucy's mother is a member of Rittenhouse."

Those seven words actually hit hard in Wyatt's gut. Turning around and running a hand through his hair, he let out a shaky exhale as Agent Christopher's words repeated in his head. Lost in thought by the shocking news he'd just heard, he didn't even hear the agent's phone ringing or her answering it.

Lucy's mom is a leader of Rittenhouse?

 _Lucy!_

Without saying a word to Agent Christopher, Wyatt rushed out of the conference room and ran at top speed to the locker room. Once he got there, he holstered his weapon and snatched his keys and was about to get to his truck when Agent Christopher ordered him to stop.

"I'm going to find Lucy!" he argued without stopping

"Wyatt, there's more bad news," Denise's graved voice called out to him.

He spun around with disbelief in his eyes. "You've got to be kidding me."

She ignored his remark. "The Mothership has been stolen and the Homeland soldiers watching it have been murdered."

"Shit," Wyatt cursed under his breath. _How much worst could this get?_

Suddenly a loud blaring alarm rang through the speakers and the room was flashed with a rotating red light.

"What the hell?" Agent Christopher said, more to herself then to Wyatt as she pivoted on her heel and ran to the control room of Mason Industries with Wyatt right behind her.

When they arrived, they froze on the spot on the catwalk overlooking the control room to find the place in chaos. Trying to make out the disorientating sight because of the flashing red light made it, at first, difficult to see what happening until their eyes finally were able to adjust. Being a Master Sergeant of Delta Force, Wyatt had seen plenty of chaotic scenes before, and even a few from the time travel trips he and Lucy and Rufus witnessed themselves, but what he was seeing now was one of the most insane ones ever. All of the employees and techs were scrambling around and yelling to one another over the alarm still screaming in the speakers. Some were trying to grab as much stuff they could carry and run out of the room while others were on computers in attempt to give out statuses of what was happening. Finally, among the sea of jostling people, Wyatt caught sight Rufus and Connor Mason.

"Rufus, Mason!" Christopher shouted out as she climbed down the stairs and came to a halt right next to Mason who was hovering behind Rufus as the engineer's fingers were typing a mile a minute on a keyboard with his eyes glued to a computer screen. "Somebody better tell me what the hell is going on right now!"

"We've been hacked, that's what the bloody hell is going on!" snapped Mason.

"What do you mean—" Wyatt began to ask when he came up next to Christopher.

"Rittenhouse hacked us with a very scary ass virus that is deleting everything we have," Rufus interrupted without looking up. "I'm trying to slow it down but I don't know much more I can do!"

Mason quickly grabbed a pen and wrote something down on two pieces of paper and then handed them to Wyatt and Christopher. "This is the location of the safe haven that we need to evacuate to, in the San Gorgonio Mountain."

Wyatt glanced at the piece of paper in his hand, as did Christopher. "The San Gorgonio Mountain? That's over seven hours away from here," she pointed out.

"Yes, well, that's one of the points of a hideaway place, isn't Agent Christopher?" the smarmy tech mogul scoffed back. The Homeland Security agent gave him an extremely exasperated look, but didn't say anything.

"Alright, I managed to save the last piece of information on Rittenhouse from Lucy's grandpa files," Rufus announced as he pulled out a tiny drive from the computer and held it up to show the others. Just then, the computer screen went haywire and then went black. "And just in time too."

"Well, done, Rufus," Mason congratulated before becoming serious. "Guard that drive with your life."

"Alright, people," Christopher piped in. "I suggest that we celebrate later. Right now, we need get everyone out of here and to the safe haven."

"What about Jiya?" Wyatt asked.

"I have guards with her right now and I'm going to get her myself," she answered and was about to say something else when Wyatt's phone began to ring loudly. Frantically pulling it out and seeing Lucy's name flashing on the screen, he nearly dropped it.

 _Thank God!_

"It's Lucy!" He informed the others before quickly running out of the noisy control room and into an empty hallway then swiftly brushed his thumb on his phone to answer the call.

"Wyatt?!" Lucy's voice cried out into his ear. Even over the blaring alarm still sounding throughout the building, Wyatt could still hear her distress.

"Lucy?" He exclaimed overwhelmed with relief to hear her voice and then concern washed over when the memory of her mother's involvement with Rittenhouse returned. "Where are you? Are you okay?"

There was no answer at first. For a second, panic was rising inside Wyatt's chest until he heard a tiny, shaky breath. "Oh, my God, Wyatt!" she cried in a hushed voiced. "It's not over! Everything we did—Rittenhouse, it's—we didn't stop them! Wyatt, they have the Mothership! What are we gonna do?"

"Lucy, calm down! Please tell me where you are."

"I'm…I'm at my mom's house. Wyatt, she's—"

"Lucy, please," He begged her. "Are you okay? Where is your mom now?"

"I'm okay—I, I mean, I think…"

Just then, Wyatt thought he heard the sound of a doorbell ringing and the distant sound of another woman's voice, but couldn't make out what she was saying.

"Lucy? Are you there?" Wyatt called out again.

"Y—Yes, I'm still here. Wyatt, I—"

Lucy's voice suddenly ceased and the next thing that came through the other end of the phone call was the sound other woman talking indistinctly until she said the one word that made his heart stop cold: _Rittenhouse_.

All of sudden, Wyatt's protective instincts went on high alert when he realized that the other woman was Lucy's mother.

 _And Lucy is with her!_

Before he could say anything else, the next thing he heard was Lucy's voice squeaked in disbelief: "Noah?"

The name of Lucy's fake fiancée hit Wyatt hard in the gut, but a sudden, disturbing thought came to his mind: If Lucy's mom just spoke the word "Rittenhouse", and then Lucy exclaimed the doctor's name, does that mean Dr. Noah No-Last-Name is part of the evil secret organization too?

Suddenly there was a small click and the call ended.

* * *

 _Arthur's Note:_

 _So that's the first chapter! Again, thank you all of you wonderful Timeless writers for helping me get through those empty Monday nights when season one ended and this ridiculous long wait. And a big thank you to Gracielinn, Cindy Ryan, TheVelvetDusk, LivingInSmilesIsBetter, angellwings, rachelbee21, emilycare, elenam1996, Once Upon a Whim, fortheloveofbuttercups, and Missyriver for writing your stories that have become some of my favorites. And to qwertygal, I want to personally thank you for not only your stories but also for suggesting me to get my own account. Please review and tell me what you guys think of chapter 1._


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

"LUCY! LUCY!" Wyatt shouted into his phone.

Nothing.

Wyatt turned around and found Christopher right behind him.

"What happened?" She asked.

He quickly told her about everything he heard during the call. When he was done, Denise sighed sharply. "Do you still have that burner phone I gave you?"

"Yes, ma'am," Wyatt confirmed, remembering the untraceable phone she gave him. Because of his joy ride to the past and escape from the black site, the Master Sergeant found himself declared as a fugitive of the law (well, declared as a fugitive by Rittenhouse). Either way, Wyatt had to lay low, in which the HS agent helped him to so by finding him a secured place to sleep, food to eat, and also the burner phone to use for emergencies.

Just then a tremendous BANG shook the whole building and suddenly the control room had gone black. Several panicking people started screaming loudly when the rotating alarm light came back on. Denise snapped her head toward Wyatt. "Find Lucy and then call me. Go now!"

Without needing to be told twice, Wyatt turned around and sprint toward the stairs. Climbing the steps on the catwalk two at a time, he just made it to the platform when another powerful BANG hit the building. Fire burst into the left side of the control room, and was spreading rapidly. The force caused the stairs beneath his feet to shake violently and suddenly he felt it starting to collapse. Without thinking, the Master Sergeant lunged himself through an open door and rolled into the overlooking conference room.

Wyatt got up on to his knees as his eyes watched the remaining employees, followed by Agent Christopher and Mason, as they scrambled out of the room as the blazing inferno from the blast expanded. Frozen on the spot, he stared wordlessly as Rufus ran and jumped into the Lifeboat. He saw the hatch door close and the rings around it began to spin just as a great number of men in black, fireproof uniforms and large machine guns entered through the flaming hole. Some threw grenades toward the computers which exploded on contact. Others went into different directions all the way through MI while the rest began to opened fire on the time machine.

 _Rittenhouse_ , he thought. They came to destroy the Lifeboat so no one would come after them and the Mothership.

Wyatt was about to reach out for his own gun when he realized that his own measly 9mm would be futile against ten—no, twenty powerful machine guns in the room. Plus, if he started shooting, he would reveal his location. Not that it mattered, just then, the Lifeboat vanished in a second. The abnormal gust of wind from the machine, combined with the unbelievable heat from the fire, momentarily stunned the Rittenhouse soldiers; giving enough time for Wyatt to make his escape. Zigzagging through the hallways, Wyatt managed to avoid running into any Rittenhouse soldiers but stayed alter as the occasional blast from their grenades every now and then could be heard all throughout the building. However, the fire from the control room was spreading fast throughout all of Mason Industries. His eyes were starting to sting and the smoke was making him coughing uncontrollably until he burst through the door and out into the cool night. Just as Wyatt was about to run toward the parking lot, an explosion boomed through the whole structure, sending the Delta Force soldier sailing across the back entrance of the building and crashed onto the rough gravel.

 _Damn, that hurt!_

Slowly getting to his feet and grunting in pain, Wyatt took one last glance at the burning building before hurrying to his truck, by the abruptly prompt fact that Lucy is with her now-recently-discovered-mother-is-Rittenhouse and her now ex-fake-fiancée. He got in and started the engine and in a flash, he was driving out of the parking lot and was speeding like a maniac through the late night traffic. Not caring at all of the number of driving laws he'd most likely broken. Wyatt made it to Carol Preston's house in ten minutes. Slamming the brakes into a stop and turned off the engine, he studied the house. At first glance, it looked like it was deserted, but when he started to rush to the front door, his keen ears caught the faint sound of something crashing, followed by a familiar scream he recognized immediately.

Fear swallowed Wyatt instantly, "LUCY!"

Coming up to the front door and reaching for the knob, he cursed when he found it locked. The pleading sound of Lucy's voice inside the house met his ears again. Taking two steps back, and not thinking, he kicked the door open with a thundering slam. With his gun raised, Wyatt quickly scrutinized the dark foyer. Just then the sound of running footsteps from down the hall caught his attention.

Quickly rushing through the house, he saw the disappearing silhouette of a tall man swiftly running out of the house through the back door.

 _Noah!_

Red rage filled Wyatt as he raced toward the door. But by the time he came looked out in the backyard, the man was nowhere to be seen. Fuming for a second, Wyatt slammed his fist into the wall, but then the whereabouts of Carol Preston came to his mind. This is her house after all. But that question was quickly overshadowed when Lucy took placed in his brain. Wyatt did a quick, but through, check on the first floor, finding it clear, then went up to the second level. Coming around a corner, he saw a dimmed, flickering light under a door. Approaching it carefully he slowly opened the door and found himself in a small bedroom.

Finding the flickering light was from a desk lamp that had been knocked down, Wyatt straighten it back up and took in his surroundings. The lamp was on top of an antique desk, a vanity dresser with a large mirror next to a queen sized bed, and a large bookcase that took up half of the room, filled with books about historical moments. Wyatt didn't needed another clue to realize who owned this bedroom as he grinned at the few books about Abraham Lincoln and then the one with a picture of John Wilkes Booth with Lucy's name below it on the middle shelf.

Turning around, his keen eyes started to look around the tiny room. He saw that the bed spread was all ruffled up and a few pillows had fallen onto the floor, indicating a possible struggle. When Wyatt began walking toward the bed, something cluttered and crunched softly under his feet. Pieces of a large, ceramic décor laid smashed on the floor by a small nightstand. Kneeling down in front of the broken mess, his breath hitched in his throat at the sight of thick, dark red liquid splattered on many of the jagged shards. But when the tiny shine of something metallic caught his attention under the bed, he almost felt his heart literally stopped when he reached out and held up Lucy's precious locket, with the chain broken.

Lucy wouldn't go anywhere without the only evidence that proved Amy's existence.

Trying not to think of the worst scenario, Wyatt put the locket into his pocket then forced his military brain to take over and keep looking for Lucy. Just then, he heard a barely audible sound of movement coming from inside the closet. Quickly and quietly, Wyatt straightened up and came up to the door. Placing his hand on the knob and raised his gun in the other _…one…two…three_ , he swung the door open. At first, all he could see was clothes hanging in darkness but in the corner of his eye, something made a tiny jump followed by a soft whimper on the floor.

That was when he saw her.

Lucy's whole body was trembling, laying on the ground like a tiny ball in the fetal position. Her hands were covering her face while trying to hide behind a row of hanging dresses.

Wyatt's heart shattered seeing Lucy like this, especially the fact that she was hiding a tiny closet and she's claustrophobic. Slowly putting his gun back into his holster, he got on to his knees. "Lucy?"

She flinched and let out another whimper, her face still covered by her hands.

"Lucy, it me, it's Wyatt," he tried again gently, resisting to reach out to touch her so not to frighten her anymore than she was. "It's okay now."

Very tentatively, Lucy lowered her hands, slightly revealing her absolute terrified brown eyes. "W—Wyatt?"

Releasing a much relieved breath, Wyatt smiled at her and slowly reached out toward her. "It's alright, Luce. It's just us. You're safe now."

* * *

 _Safe…_

The unquestionable faith Lucy had in Wyatt engulfed her entirely. Uncurling herself from her hiding place, she delicately placed her small hand into Wyatt's. Getting up to her knees in front of him, she couldn't hold back the small grateful smile spreading across her face as she locked her gaze into his beautiful blue eyes. Wyatt Logan: the Delta Force solider who knew how to get out of tight situations. Her best friend who will always be by her side. And the protector of the time traveling team.

Emotions filled Lucy to the brim as she started to feel tears beginning to come out of her eyes. Before she knew it, her hand broke contact with his and she found herself tumbling straight into his chest and threw her arms around his neck, just as the repressed sobs throughout the last few hours finally burst and shook through her body. Wyatt automatically wrapped his arms and held on to the sobbing Lucy. He gently swayed them side to side in a comforting matter and he murmured soothing words in her ear.

She slowly pulled away, looking into his eyes. Her hands reached up and softly caress his scruffy cheeks; confirming that he was indeed real, right in front of her. "You came," she said breathlessly, her eyes not leaving his. "You're here."

"Of course I am," he replied as he brought his own hands to her cheeks. "I will always come for you, ma'am."

A teary laugh came out of Lucy's mouth from hearing the nickname from the only man she allowed to call her.

It was then she knew, without a doubt, that she was safe.

* * *

 _Arthur's Notes:_

 _Chapter 2! Tell me what ya'll think and keep an eye out when I post chapter 3 (which will be very soon) ;) I'll tell ya'll this, its one part of the story I can't wait to share! And we're almost 4 days away until season 2 YAY!  
_


	3. Chapter 3

_Arthur's Note:_

 _Hey, guys. First of all, WOW! I'm surprised and happy for all of the favs and all of those who are following this story. Thank you! Second, I just wanted to say something regarding this chapter. I'm in my twenties and I love listening to songs from the 70s and 80s; during the time when my parents were teenagers and when they were married. And there's one song that is one of my favorites of time; a song by the band Survivor called "The Search is Over". And the more I listened to it, the more I realized "Oh, my God, this song is perfect for Timeless!"So that's why I think this chapter is the heart of the story and pretty much Wyatt's and Lucy's relationship._

 _So, before we proceed, as I said in the first chapter, I don't own Timeless. Those rights belong to NBC, and I don't own the greatest rock ballad (in my opinion) either or the lyrics; that credit goes to Survivor, the music geniuses Frankie Sullivan and Jim Peterik who wrote it, and the song's producer, Ron Nevison._

* * *

Chapter 3

Wyatt gave Lucy his signature smirk as he gently pulled them up onto their feet and walked out of the closet. Suddenly his heart stopped when the light from the lamp slowly revealed a large red mark forming into a bruise on her left cheek, hidden behind her curly hair. Lucy saw how his expression changed and her eyes began tear up again, knowing what he was looking at. As gently as possible, he brushed her hair behind her ear then turned her face toward the light.

He tensed up the moment he realized that the hideous mark was cause by someone striking her delicate face. "Who did this?"

She didn't answer him, just brought her eyes to the floor.

"Lucy," he tried again, thinking of a possible answer. "Was it Noah? Did he hurt you?"

She still didn't looked up, but gave a tiny, hesitant nod.

Wyatt felt the color in his face drain as rage filled him.

 _That bastard hit her?! If I ever see him again, I'll kill him!_

Then he remembered what he heard from their phone call back at Mason; her mom's voice saying "Rittenhouse" followed by Lucy exclaiming the doctor's name. So her fake fiancée is a part of this too. Thinking that now was the time to get back to address the seriousness of the situation they were in, he quickly informed her of the rendezvous plan as they both hastily packed a small bag full of clothes and some necessary essentials for her. When they finished, Wyatt ushered her to his truck. Opening the door for her and stashed her bag in the back seat as she climbed in.

"What about you?" she asked, specifying to the bag.

Wyatt realized that she must have figured that because of the seriousness of the situation, there probably was no time to run back to his apartment and bring clothes for himself.

"Don't worry about me, Luce," he smirked and pointed out to a large backpack. "Agent Christopher was able to get everything I needed to lay low after our meeting at the warehouse. Clothes, some food, toothbrush…"

Lucy gave a small chuckle and nodded her head.

Wyatt gave her a small grin before pulling something out of the backpack and closed her door. He quickly dialed Agent Christopher's secured number on the burner phone.

She answered after the first ring.

"I've got Lucy, she's okay," he stated, then silently listened to the agent's instructions. "Understood."

Hanging up, he got into the driver seat and got his truck rapidly driving out of Lucy's neighborhood.

"Where are we going?" Lucy asked.

"To a secured location about four hours away from here Agent Christopher is meeting us at."

In the corner of his eye, he saw Lucy tensing up in her seat. "Four hours? Wyatt, it's almost eleven at night. Are you going to be okay driving that long?"

Wyatt couldn't help but chuckle heartily and feel touched by her concern for him. "I've gone through without sleep longer than four hours on military missions before, Lucy. I'll be fine."

Lucy looked like she was about to ask if he was sure, but stopped. She trusted him enough to know that he knows his limits.

For a few moments, they sat in silence. It wasn't until they came out of San Francisco when Lucy couldn't wait any longer and asked Wyatt to tell her exactly what happened at Mason. At first he hesitated, worried that retailing what he experienced at MI could most likely affect her even more after what she's already been through tonight.

"Wyatt, please tell me," she repeated.

Signing heavily, Wyatt reluctantly gave her a detailed recap of Mason Industries being hacked and then burned down by a group of men who were, no doubt, Rittenhouse.

Once the tale came to an end, Lucy became uncharacteristically silent. Bring the truck to a stop at a red light, Wyatt turned his head and saw, under the yellow glow of a street light, Lucy's face had become pale from hearing about the attack and brought her eyes to her hands on her lap. "Then I guess its official. Rittenhouse has declared war on Mason Industries—and on us."

Wyatt's heart broke at her distress. He gently took her hands into his. "Hey, Lucy, look at me."

She slowly obeyed.

"I know you're scared about all this, but believe me what I said before. I am meant to protect you and that's what I'm going to do. I'm not gonna let anyone hurt you. Not Noah or any Rittenhouse dick."

Lucy's lower lip trembled a little, but she gave him a truly grateful smile, and squeezed his hands. "Thank you, Wyatt," she whispered, but still looked scared.

Wyatt smiled back and slowly resumed driving when the light turned green. "Here," Pulling his hand free from hers, reached out and turned on the radio. "Pick a station. Music can help by distracting you for a while."

After going through three different stations, Lucy settled on one she knew, a station that played rock songs from the 70s and 80s. "Is this okay with you?"

"Yeah, good choice. I gotta admit; I would've never pegged you to be into this kind of music. I'd assumed classical scores by Beethoven or Mozart or maybe even Tchaikovsky would be your kind of interest."

Lucy pretended to take offense of his teasing. "Hey, just because I'm historian, doesn't mean that I don't appreciate music that's not over three hundred years old."

Wyatt chuckled and raised his right hand as a mock surrender. "My apologies, ma'am."

Lucy's expression softened as she rolled her eyes at him. "Besides, my dad loved this kind of music and got me into it. And after he died, I kept on listening to it as a way in remembrance of him."

Wyatt gave a gentle nod, indicating that he understood, right before he saw Lucy hesitated to reveal another honest answer. "And also…this station has a show each week that tells interesting stories about the history of a different singer or band and their songs."

"Now _that's_ something I can find even more believable!" he declared with a smug grin.

Lucy responded to his snide comment by sticking her tongue out at him and shook her head. "I'll have you know, you'd be surprised what you can learn on that show," she scoffed and pointed to the radio. "Just last week, they talked about how this song became the writer's biggest hit and that it took five years to complete. And they talked about how the lyrics expressed the writer's unhappiness with a former love interest to a girl who he thought was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen and was 'secretly in love' with her. In the end, the girl turned out to be not an old girlfriend but a much older cousin he had when he was a kid."

A thoughtful expression came to Wyatt's face as he listened to her mini speech. "Hmm, alright, I'll admit, that's a pretty interesting history lesson about a rock song."

"A _classic_ rock song," she countered back.

At that, Wyatt couldn't help but laugh at the contradiction of her words and it didn't take long for Lucy to start laughing too. The both of them continued on until the hysterics eventually ended, leading them to feel much more relaxed.

After being on the road for about an hour and half, the two of them sat in a comfortable companionship while listening (and occasionally singing along) to a variety of rock songs and the occasional history lesson Lucy learned about them. Regardless of the seriousness of the reality facing them once they join the others at the rendezvous, Wyatt couldn't help but to conclude to himself that this moment he was having with Lucy was, truly, one of the most enjoyable experiences of his life he had in a very long time.

It made him remember of the realization he'd discovered hours ago before everything went to hell that he wasn't ready to say good-bye to the beautiful, kind, brilliant, feisty, and brave historian. After everything they've been through since they first met on October 3, 2016, from the Hindenburg to Joseph McCarthy's anticommunist reign in 1954, the thought of possibly never seeing her again for the rest of his life literally felt like acid burning in his stomach.

Soon after more driving and (classic) rock music, Lucy's posture was starting to slump and her eyes began to get heavy. Noticing this, Wyatt quickly pulled over. He reached below her seat to adjust it to recline into a comfortable position and then he gently told her to get some sleep. Without arguing, she obediently stretched out her body and laid her head against the side of the head rest, but kept her eyes opened. Wyatt began to raise his hand toward the radio controls to turn it off, but Lucy's own hand gently stopped him.

"Leave it," she said softly, giving him a drowsy smile. "Listening to these songs has been a great distraction on everything that's happened tonight. But being with you has made it even better."

The moment her hand touched his and hearing her confession, Wyatt felt the protective wall around his heart that was formed ever since Jessica's death had completely shattered.

Ever since this whole time traveling mess started, he had felt subtle fissures of its hold on him exactly four times after he met Lucy Preston. First in 1836, then a stronger one in 1934, another one in 1893, and an even more powerful one that was combined with the last two hugs they shared in 2017. Now, his heart was completely liberated and filled with a warm, exhilarating, and blissful feeling that he thought he would never, ever feel again after he lost his wife. Glancing at Lucy in the corner of his eye, the memory of their discussion back at Mason and his brief mention of being opened to possibilities slammed back into his brain. Then he realized that it combined perfectly with this new emotion he was now feeling for the woman sitting next to him.

 _Could this actually be—_

Just then, the soft piano intro to Survivor's song _The Search is Over_ began to play through the speakers. Lucy's eyes immediately became wide with excitement. "Oh, turn it up! I love this song!"

Wyatt did as she requested as she curled up in her seat and closed her eyes in content. He watched her for a second while thinking about his new epiphany.

 _How can I be sure_? He asked himself as he turned the steering wheel back onto the road and resumed the long drive. As if answering his question, Jimi Jamison's voice filled inside the truck.

 _How can I convince you,_

 _What you see is real?_

 _Who am I to blame you_

 _For doubting what you feel?_

The memory of the day when Wyatt met Lucy brought a smile to his face as he recalled hearing her voice for the first time in the conference room at Mason, asking him if he was asleep.

 _No, ma'am_ was his answer. Her cold tone responded by informing him that they were pretty much the same age so he could stop calling her "ma'am", causing him to open his eyes and give an amused smirk at the pretty, dark haired lady.

He smiled again, remembering her unchanged attitude toward him when they sat in the Lifeboat. _Stop calling me ma'am_ …He had to admit, at first, he thought the chosen historian was going to be a pain in his ass, but he remembered that he couldn't help but give her an impressed look at her quick thinking and how her persuasion led him to open up to her that Jessica died and that it was his fault. But seeing the true expression of sympathy on her face was just the start of his attraction to her.

 _I was always reachin'_

 _You were just a girl I knew_

 _I took for granted,_

 _The friend I have in you_

Always reaching…that's what Wyatt did when he helped with her safety straps before each jump, but his new friendship with her flourished to a new level when he tenderly held Lucy's hand after her heart breaking confession about what happened after witnessing President Lincoln being assassinated right in front of her. He knew she felt the same way when she allowed him to continue his comforting gesture and gave him an absolute grateful look through her sad eyes.

 _I was living for a dream,_

 _Loving for a moment,_

 _Taking on the world,_

 _That was just my style_

Even back all those months ago when he was still devoted to finding justice for Jessica, he remembered how his attraction toward Lucy began to grow in very small, continuous measurements. The small, harmless flirts for one like when he gave her a teasing wink after telling her that she had the honeymoon to look forward when she shared the news of her unknown fiancée. One of the most significant moments he noticed started when she opened up to him about her car accident when he helped her get over the hump in Nazi Germany. The appreciated, self-assure look on her face from hearing his advice as he helped straightened her tie sent his feelings for her to another level. _Figure out what you're fighting for and you'll be okay._

But when the Alamo mission happened, those words were completely erased from his mind. Knowing the inevitable doom that was about to fall upon the small chapel brought on the painful memories and guilt he held for abandoning the men he served with in Syria, spiking his PTSD dangerously. Plus considering the fact that he would be officially off the team once they return to the present, he figured the best way to redeem his sins would be to stay behind and fight. He didn't care that his decision was basically indicating that he was going to commit suicide. He was a soldier; he couldn't leave good men behind; not again.

 _Now I look into your eyes,_

 _I can see forever_

 _The search is over,_

 _You were with me all the while_

The sudden crescendo of the chorus brought on a powerful memory. From out of the darkness of his mind, Lucy's desperate, but determined voice forced him to listen to her fierce words. _I trust you! You're the one I trust! Rufus needs you; I need you!_ Looking deeply into her scared eyes and feeling the tight, painful squeeze from her hands around his face to punctuate her seriousness was when he first felt the tiny crack on the wall around his heart. Despite all of his demons he was facing at that moment, she made it clear that she was not, repeat _not_ , leaving without him. Hesitating for a minute, he finally cleared his head and told her to get ready to run.

 _Can we last forever?_

 _Will we fall apart?_

 _At times it's so confusing,_

 _The questions of the heart_

The second half of the song brought on the reminder of one of the worst drawbacks to his new friendship with Rufus, and especially with Lucy: The Watergate Tape mission. Thanks to Flynn and that damn journal he claims is (or will be) Lucy's and the fact that she neglected to mention that she'd spoken to the bastard a couple times on their trips, Wyatt couldn't help but feel betrayed and angry. He had a right to, didn't he? And to add insult to injury, it turned out Rufus was secretly recording them for Rittenhouse!

Wyatt felt his skin crawl when he remembered how he coldly stated that he didn't trust either of them, directing mostly toward Lucy. And when they returned home, he just flat out ignored them as he stormed out of MI. Not before briefly hearing Rufus asking Lucy if they were going to be okay. Secretly, when he got home, he asked himself the same question.

 _You followed me through changes,_

 _And patiently you'd wait_

 _Till' I came to my senses through_

 _Some miracle of fate_

Changes? That was an understatement describing how he felt toward his new team on their next mission. Being stranded in 1754 had really put a strain on them. In fact, it's a wonder his temper didn't completely exploded on them, especially after Lucy tried to get him to allow her to explain her reasons about not mentioning about Flynn or the journal. But that just hit another button for him because of what Flynn read to him about what future Lucy (supposedly) wrote about Jess. And also the fact that he found out about her deal with Agent Christopher to get her sister back, all the while he was supposed to just accept the fact that his wife is dead. That just made him even angrier toward Lucy.

But like the song just expressed, Lucy patiently waited to clarify her reasons to him and it wasn't until when impending death by hostile Shawnee Indians faced them and their death-defying trip back home finally caused him to comprehend long enough to hear her reasons.

Wyatt couldn't help but chuckle softly as the song, once again, seemed to correctly portray their lives by the fact they were able to overcome that first obstacle of their friendship by some miracle of fate.

 _I was living for a dream,_

 _Loving for a moment,_

 _Taking on the world,_

 _That was just my style_

Suddenly one memory slammed into Wyatt as it reminded him of when his relationship with Lucy changed significantly. The Bonnie and Clyde mission in 1934…when he kissed her for the first time. Visibly replaying it in his mind, his hand all of a sudden reached out, pulled her from the back of her neck toward him, and then his lips met hers. It was just for show; to get Clyde's suspicion off of them, that's what he told himself in the beginning. But the moment he touched her soft lips with his and feeling her hand gently caressing his cheek, he felt another crack in the wall around his heart. This time it was stronger than the one back at the Alamo.

The unexpected spark he felt left him absolutely stunned. And it got even stronger when she didn't pull away or glared at him when he pulled her to lie across his lap not long after that kiss. But what he realized that the obvious sign that his feelings for Lucy changed was when they were sharing that tiny bed. It wasn't the fact that he was laying next to her slim figure (not that he wasn't going to admit that he did not enjoyed that moment, especially when she rested her arm on top of his). It was when he watched in the corner of his eye Lucy turning her head toward him and the words she gently suggested that still echo clearly in his head. _I think you, we, anyone has to be open to possibilities._ After a second, it dawned on him of what she was implying.

 _Then I look into your eyes,_

 _I can see forever_

 _The search is over,_

 _You were with me all the while_

The second crescendo made Wyatt look over at a seemingly sleeping Lucy in the passenger seat as the song reminded him of the next moment he felt something toward her…After listening to her words of possibilities, he swiveled his head on the pillow they were sharing, his gaze met her gorgeous brown eyes and seeing how beautiful she was; her pale skin, dark hair, and pink lips…and the clear longing look she gave him. If Clyde didn't ruined the moment by a sudden, masculine snore, Wyatt knew he wouldn't hesitate to pull her even closer toward him and kiss her all over again.

Or maybe it was a good thing that Clyde inadvertently killed the mood because then things would've been awkward between the two of them. Thank God Lucy understood that the whole kiss thing was just an act, to gain Bonnie and Clyde's trust. At the end of it all, their friendship was still good and they got amusing pet names for each other. _I will see you later, Babydoll…See you around, Sweetheart_. But at the end of the day, Wyatt knew he couldn't deny the fact that he did feel _something_ as a result of that kiss.

 _Now the miles stretch out behind me_

 _Loves that I have lost_

 _Broken hearts_

 _Lie victims of the game_

The up-beat music of the song caused the reminiscence events of Lucy being kidnapped by Flynn, hitting Wyatt hard in the gut. Even now he would never be able to fully get rid of the sound of her voice screaming out his name. And at the moment he saw her being dragged into the Mothership and it disappearing a second later, the overwhelming, agonizing combination of loss and guilt fell upon him. The thought of losing someone he cared about and knowing that it was his fault all over again nearly destroyed him. The moral of culpability wasn't lifted until in 1893, the instant the door in the air tight chamber in the Murder Castle opened and the emotions of sheer joy and relief filled him to the brim when Lucy rushed toward him and his arms enveloped her into a tight embrace.

He felt his heart nearly burst out of its protective wall when he saw that she was alright. But once they were all safe and back in their own time, Wyatt became aware of a new wave of guiltiness. When Flynn kept his word and provided Jessica's killer's name, he realized that the feelings he had for Lucy should be for his wife. After all of his research for the last five years, he, at last, had a real clue.

And his decision to finally take action about it led Lucy's heart to get broken, by his own selfish choices. And what was worst, seeing her cry in front of him completely wrecked him for not being able to do anything to comfort her. Because he knew if he did, he would've never left.

Wyatt choked at the memory of that night at her mom's house that eventually led to one of the worst days of his life.

 _Then good luck, it finally struck_

 _Like lighting from the blue_

 _Every highway's leading me back to you_

Good luck…that was what Lucy said to him right before he went on with his rogue mission. Even now, after she showed just how truly self-less she was, he realized that he didn't deserved her friendship, she was a friend he took for granted.

Because of his desperation to change the past, everything went from bad to hell. He end up accidentally killing an innocent man, next was being arrested the moment he step out of the Lifeboat, and then learning the soul crushing truth that his actions did not bring his wife back. And when he was being dragged away by the HS agents, as he kept calling out in denial that Jess was alive, remembering the absolute devastated expression on Lucy's face almost brought Wyatt to reach out and turn off the radio, tears starting to slowly fall out of his eyes.

 _Now at last I hold you,_

 _Now all is said and done,_

 _The search has come full circle_

 _Our destinies are one_

His hand froze, hovering in front of the power button when the song reminded him of the next moment he saw his team after his arrest. Lucy's face was filled with absolute relief the second her eyes met his. She rushed toward him and flung her arms around his neck. _You're okay…_ she whispered into his ear, causing him hold her closer. He was close to tears when he realized that she had forgiven him. That realization sent more than half of the wall around his heart down. Everything was said and done.

Wyatt still wasn't sure if it was fate, the Universe, God, or even the Force that brought him to meet this incredible woman, but like he said to her and Rufus back then and just a couple hours ago, he is meant to protect both of them and that is what he's going to do as they fight Rittenhouse. _How...?_ A voice inside his head asked, just like when Lucy asked the same thing. And like back then, Wyatt couldn't help but admit to himself that that was a damn, good question.

 _So if you ever loved me,_

 _Show me that you give a damn_

 _You'll know for certain,_

 _The man I'm really am_

The next words of the song made him flashed back not long ago (well, technically, 63 years ago) when Lucy asked them to leave her behind with Flynn. Even though he knew the purpose of her plan was to convince Flynn and her grandfather that there was another way to bring down Rittenhouse, the thought of leaving her in the hands of the ex-NSA agent literally made him sick to the stomach. _Look, we already lost you once, I cannot lose you again…You've trusted me this long; I just need you to do it a little longer_ …Of course he trusted her, no doubt about that. But he still hated to leave without her. It felt like an eternity when she finally called him saying that she had returned to the present. Returned to a man like him; a reckless hothead his bossy-know-it-all friend fondly called him.

 _I was living for a dream_

 _Loving for a moment_

 _Taking on the world,_

 _That was just my style_

The brief moment they had together at MI earlier that night brought on two things he remembered the most. The hug they shared felt so right, even more when Lucy turned her head and tenderly rested her cheek on his shoulder. That was when he felt the same crack he felt back at the warehouse. His heart was almost completely free of the barrier of grief and hopelessness when her affectionately gesture made him realized that he couldn't bear the thought of never seeing Lucy again. That's why he suggested to her that his return to Pendleton could wait and he would help her get Amy back…and concisely mention that maybe he did need to be open to possibilities.

 _Then I touched your hand_

 _I could hear you whisper,_

 _The search is over_

Wyatt briefly brought his eyes to Lucy next to him when he knew that he was being honest with himself that it was true what he said to her about not being ready to say good-bye because—

 _Love was right before my eyes_

That was it—it took to listening to a scarily accurate 80s song seemingly portraying their lives since they met to make Wyatt Logan finally come to terms with the truth.

He was without a doubt, completely, devotedly, and irrevocably in love with Lucy Preston…Maybe he even suspected it when her hand gently brushed his cheek and her searching look reflected his after their kiss in 1934.

The song came to an end, causing Lucy to stir in her seat and a smile to her face. "Mm, love that song," she sighed happily before falling back asleep.

A small smirk spread on Wyatt's face. "Me too."

* * *

 _Arthur's Note:_

 _Soooo…what do you guys think? Did this song pretty much portrayed out accurately with their relationship? I also think REO Speedwagon's 'Can't Fight This Feeling' does that too, but I like Survivor's song better. If any of you haven't heard this song before, I strongly urge you to listen to it at least once on Youtube and think about the scenes I wrote. That's how I see the song as a music video for this show could play out._

 _Anyway, tell me what ya'll think of this chapter._

 _And a quick heads up, there might be a short wait before I get to working on chapter 4 and have it ready sometime next week. I want to relax and enjoy the beginning of the new season of our show. But I promise I will not take too long to do so._

 _SO CLOSE, YOU GUYS! Give a shout if you're excited too_ _:)_


	4. Chapter 4

_Arthur's note:_

 _Hey guys! First of all, I'm so sorry for the almost two week wait. I meant to have this chapter finished and posted a few days after the second season started but life happened. My job suddenly took a crazy turn and had me on my feet for eight hours straight for five days in a row. And by the time I got home, I didn't have the energy to do anything._

 _But hey, here we are now with the next chapter!_

 _But right before we get to that, I just have to say: so far, this season is AWESOME! Favorite parts right now: the emotional scenes with Wyatt and Lucy (Obviously)! OMG, after just reading about Wyatt holding Lucy in his arms for the last thirteen months and to finally see it for real in the first episode, oh, it was ten times better! And from this week, the part where they were in the trunk of Wendell Scott's car, my heart just melted! But, geez, the writers are killing me with the fact that those two just keep getting interrupted right before they kiss! TWICE! But…next week's episode should help make up for it all!_

 _Anyway, sorry for rambling, LOL, and the wait. Here's the next chapter, hope ya'll enjoy!_

* * *

Chapter 4

"Mm, love that song…"

When the rock ballad ended, Lucy's somnolent brain eventually shut down and she fell asleep. She thought Wyatt said something, but she was too tried to comprehend.

It was only a little time later when she vaguely felt the vehicle slowing down before coming to a stop. She heard distinct voices talking for a moment. In vain, her eyes refused to open to identify the owners of the voices. But when the sound of Wyatt's deep, baritone met her ears, Lucy felt herself relax.

All of sudden, her body was moving, causing a small startled gasp escape out of her mouth.

"Shh, easy, Lucy."

Through heavy eyelids, Lucy looked up to see Wyatt's gentle smile. Her head was nestled against his broad chest and she felt his strong arms cradling her in a comforting manner. Feeling the cool air brushing across her face as he turned and started moving, she turned her head a little to see the hazy outline of a small cabin. She was about to ask him where they were but the warmth from his body and feeling so secured with his arms around her brought such a soothing emotion and soon sleep took over again.

But, unfortunately, so did the terrifying nightmares.

* * *

The moment Wyatt heard the sound of distress from Lucy he quickly rushed inside her room and found her struggling around on the bed with the sheets wrapping around her. He fell onto his knees next her and very carefully rubbed her arm.

"Its okay, Lucy," he whispered softly. "Shh, you're just having a nightmare."

She didn't seem to responding to him at first. A loud whimper came out while, simultaneously, tears were squeezing out of her closed eyes as she continued to toss and turn. His name was eventually followed through the broken sets of words she muttered.

Wyatt patiently stayed by her side and kept on whispering soothing comfort in her ear. He hated seeing Lucy like this. Vulnerable, terrified, tormented…And when she mumbled something that sounded like a mix of her mom, Rittenhouse, and Noah, it was just excruciating to him. He doesn't know exactly what she encountered at her mom's house, but after seeing the bruise on her cheek once again and a thin cut he noticed on her neck as he carried her through the cabin to one of the bedrooms, the strong urge from his protective instincts went through the roof and the now undeniable loathing feeling toward Noah made him even more determined to keep the woman he cared about—no, the woman he _loved_ safe.

Soon Lucy started to respond to Wyatt's words. And eventually her squirming in fear began to cease. Wyatt delicately placed his palm on Lucy's wet right cheek and tenderly swiped the tears away with his thumb. Absentmindedly, her hand untangled itself from the sheets and held his on her cheek. A quiet sob was released as she nuzzled into his palm.

"Wyatt…you can't leave me," she muttered.

He knew she was still asleep and wasn't aware of what was happening right now, but he didn't want to leave her side. "I'm right here, Luce, I'm not going anywhere…and I'm never gonna let anyone hurt you again. You're safe now."

After a moment or two, Lucy's eyes slowly opened. At first a look of panic filled them but when they met Wyatt's, she relaxed instantly.

"You okay, ma'am?" he asked.

Lucy nodded. "I am now."

Suddenly aware of the cheesy line she just said and to the fact that her hand was holding his to her cheek, she slips it back under the covers and looked away in embarrassment. "I'm sorry."

Chuckling softly, Wyatt stroked his thumb over her cheekbone and brought his other hand to brush her hair away from her face. "You have nothing to be sorry for, Luce. Not to me."

She responded with a small smile. After they stayed like this for a minute, she started to say something but she hesitated at first.

"Lucy, it's okay, you can say anything to me," he encouraged.

Her lower lip trembled a little. Inhaling deeply, Lucy looked straight into his eyes and asked if he would stay with her. "After everything that has happened, I—I don't think I can handle being alone."

Wyatt gave her a warm smile, knowing how very vulnerable she was feeling right now and wanted to bring her some peace. He brushed his fingers over her cheek one more time before nodding his head. He watched her scooting over to the other side of the bed as he pulled back the sheets and settled next to her.

Facing each other, neither one said a word for a minute until Lucy reached out her hand and caressed his face.

"Thank you for being here, Wyatt," she whispered, genuinely meaning it.

A tiny smirk came to his face. He turned his head and kissed her palm affectionately. "I will always be here for you, babydoll."

Lucy let out a tiny laugh, followed by a sniffle as a few more tears fell. She saw the worried look on Wyatt's face.

"I'm okay, it's just…" She started to say but a yawn slipped out.

Wyatt chuckled heartily and he wrapped his arms around her, gently pulled her body closely toward his. "Get some sleep, Lucy. We'll talk more in the morning."

Without say anything, Lucy closed her eyes as she wrapped her arms around his waist and snuggled her head into the crook of his neck. Not long after that, Wyatt felt her breathing calmly against his skin. He soon started to feel the power of sleep taking over, and closed his eyes. But not right before he softly kissed her forehead.

* * *

A few hours later, Wyatt woke up at a faint sound of movement. He opened his eyes and saw Lucy pacing back and forth in front of the bed before heading toward the door. He also noticed that her breathing was coming out in rapid, harsh exhales.

"Lucy?"

Her head snapped around to face him, looking terrified once again. The moment he saw her expression and struggling to breathe steadily, he knew she was having a panic attack. Quickly rushing in front of her, he gently cupped her face with his hands.

"Lucy—Luce, look at me. Take slow, deep breaths," he coaxed her in a low voice.

His heart broke as she fought with difficulty for a second, but when he saw her gradually matching her breathing with his, relief washed over him. "That's it, ma'am. In and out, in and out…"

After a couple minutes, Lucy let a shaky exhale and said that she was okay now.

"Do you want to tell me what has you so upset?" he suggested as he brought his hands to rest on her arms.

She tensed up for a second and looked away as if she was ashamed of something. "It was another nightmare, but, I'm—I'm scared to tell you because you might…"

Wyatt felt a lump get caught in his throat at what he assumed she was implying, but he swallowed it down and held her hands comfortingly. "It was just a bad dream, Lucy. It can't hurt you now. And you don't have to be afraid to tell me what happened, I won't hurt you. You know that, right?"

Lucy nodded her head, looking at him slightly surprised. "Yes, of course, I know…that's—that's not what I'm afraid of."

He didn't say anything, just gave her hands an encouraging squeeze.

Lucy took a deep breath. "I was in a dark room, no idea where I was. My mom and Noah suddenly appeared and started telling me that I had no choice but to marry him; saying that it was my—my destiny." Her eyes looked down at the floor before whispering, "And that R—Rittenhouse will make sure of it."

She felt Wyatt tense up. "Oh, Lucy…"

Her body started to shake and tears were threatening to fall again. "There's something you need to know, Wyatt. My mom, she's—"

Wyatt could see the clear anguish she was feeling as she struggled to tell him. So he decided to drop the bomb for her. "Lucy, I know."

Lucy froze, gaping at him with her brown eyes as big as marbles. "What?"

"I know about your mom being part of Rittenhouse; one of the high leaders, apparently."

He could see the searching look in Lucy's expression that was clearly asking: _how?_

"Agent Christopher told me when she discovered it from Ethan's information," he explained. "Right before Mason Industries was attacked. Why were you so afraid to tell me this?"

Lucy hesitated at first, feeling like she was going to be sick. "Because in the dream, after what my mom and Noah said, I turned around and I saw you. The way you looked at me after hearing everything they said; so angry and so hurt…" Her voice was starting to brake now "You said that I lied to you, to everyone. And then you just…left me."

Wyatt's stomach dropped at what she just admitted, then slowly pulled her into his arms. "Oh, my God, Lucy. Is that what you really think I would do, that I would really believe that you were one of them and just abandon you?"

She started sobbing softly and gave a tiny nod against his chest. "I'm so sorry, Wyatt. After everything that happened last night, it was as if my whole world just crumbed down and I didn't know what was real anymore. I felt like I—I've lost everything: Amy, my mom, my home…I couldn't risk losing you too!"

This time tears were coming out of Wyatt's eyes. Slightly pulling away, he cupped his hand under her chin and gently raised it until her eyes met his. "Lucy Preston, I need you listen to what I'm about to tell you and believe me that it is the honest to God truth."

She didn't say anything, just gave a shaky nod.

"Lucy, you will never lose me like that because I will never _ever_ for a second actually believe that you would be involved with those assholes," he continued as he placed his hands back on to her shoulders. "And you wanna know why? Because I know you are nothing like them. Nothing."

He was telling the truth. Lucy knew he was. Clearly noticing how his eyes not once left hers, feeling the serious, but soft shakes his hands made on her shoulders to punctuate his point. His unfathomable trust in her left her completely relieved and overwhelmed.

She slowly raised her hands and placed them on both sides on his face.

"Wyatt Logan," she said breathlessly, her thumbs stroking the stubble on his cheeks. "After everything that we've just found out about my life, how is it that your trust in me comes so easily like that?"

Wyatt gave her the signature smirk. "Because Professor, I trust you with my life. And I saw the horror in your eyes after we heard John Rittenhouse telling us his father beliefs. The idea of America being controlled by a group that is just as evil as the Nazis, and have that insane 'we-control-everything' power as Communism? I know that you want to stop them as much as we all do."

Lucy couldn't help but beam at the man in front of her after hearing his piece. Her heart was pounding inside her chest a mile a minute as she threw her arms around his neck, holding him in a tight embrace.

"Thank you, Wyatt," she whispered in his ear.

Wyatt wrapped his arms around her and returned her hug back, smiling into her hair. "Also, I know that you're a terrible liar. So there would be no way you could pass off as a Rittenhouse spy."

Lucy suddenly pulled away and looked at him absolutely offended.

"Oh, you're an absolute bastard! You know that?"she scoffed as she punched his arm. He didn't flinch.

Wyatt couldn't help but laugh at her disgust. "Only on occasion, ma'am."

All it took was one look at the humor plastered on his face.

 _Ah, damn it, I can't stay mad at this man,_ she thought to herself. _Not with those beautiful, blue eyes and dimples…_

Before she knew it, she started laughing with him too.

* * *

 _Arthur's note:_

 _I hope you guys liked this chapter! Can't what for what's in store for the next episode, so excited! And also, that part where I had Wyatt described Rittenhouse, that's how I've always felt that was the best way to characterize them: they're like a mix of Nazism and_ _Communism; evil and controlling._

 _Anyway, feel free to review if you like, and I'll have the next chapter ready as soon as I can!_


	5. Chapter 5

_Arthur's Note: Hey ya'll! Here's a new chapter, I hope you guys will like it. I had some writer's block while working on this, so hopefully ya'll will like it. And I just want to add that because this takes place after season one, most of this is going to happen how I pictured it, though there will be a few things that happened during this season, like the time team living in a bunker and I'm working on how Rittenhouse sleeper agents could work out on this story._

 _Also on a quick note: so far the Hollywood episode is my favorite! (Lucy and Wyatt finally getting together! I'm sure I speak for a lot of us and say "It's about damn time!" LOL But then Jessica happens!) Salem was a rough one to watch for me. I'll just be like Rufus and say that 1692 sucks LOL! And also the Kennedy episode was a really good one. Can't wait for next week!_

 _And one last thing: just a quick warning regarding this chapter, there are some small parts of domestic abuse that happens when Lucy tells Wyatt what happened between her and Noah, since it was indicated in the beginning of chapter 3. So if you want to skip that part, that's okay with me._

 _Anyway, here's chapter 5; enjoy!_

* * *

Chapter 5

An hour later, once both Lucy and Wyatt were dressed, they joined Agent Christopher and Jiya in the kitchen. Denise was talking to someone on the phone with her back turned. Looking up from where she sat at the table, Jiya gave the two of them a relieved smile. Lucy quickly rushed over to the younger woman and gave her a hug.

"How are you feeling?" asked Lucy as she pulled away.

Jiya gave a small shrug. "I'm okay; still have some headaches, but nothing that I can't handle."

Denise turned around and saw that everyone was together before quickly finishing her conversation. "Alright, we'll be there soon." Ending her call, she brought her attention back to the others. "Okay, guys, here's the plan: I've got a couple of government owned cars for us to drive to the rendezvous. Jiya will ride with me and you two—" she indicated to Wyatt and Lucy. "—will follow us in the other. A few trusted agents will tail us as a precaution and we should be able to meet up with Rufus and Mason in a few hours. Got it?"

"Yes, ma'am," Wyatt replied. Lucy and Jiya just nodded.

Once everyone was ready, they walked out into the sunshine to find two large SUVs parked in front of the cabin. Christopher and Jiya got into the first one. Lucy followed Wyatt into the other. As soon as both cars pulled out of the wooded area, four other vehicles appeared out of nowhere and positioned themselves to box the two SUVs inside, but kept a reasonable distance away in order to appear inconspicuous.

After being on the road for less than fifteen minutes, Lucy felt her eyes beginning to droop and exhaustion gradually taking over. Despite the fact of having Wyatt lying next to her last night after the first nightmare, her brain would not shut down. The memories of what happened at her mom's house kept playing on a loop, causing her to unable to sleep peacefully. How did her reality suddenly become this psychological mess? She was so close to getting Amy back; getting the one thing of familiarity into this Twilight Zone timeline back ever since this whole time traveling chaos started. And her mom…was she always with Rittenhouse or was it because this new timeline happened after the Hindenburg mission? Suddenly her conversation with Charles Lindbergh in 1927, Paris came back to her memory. The story of how she turned down her dream job at a different University because of how her mom uncompromisingly told her that she couldn't leave Stanford, couldn't leave _her_.

Is that what her mom and Rittenhouse had her destined to be? Maybe that's why she was read to all of those biographies of historical figures when she was little; why she was pushed to major in history. Dr. Lucy Preston: another world-class historian following her mother's footsteps.

… _But how did Amy fit in all of this?_ She thought to herself…

… _And Dad and Cahill_ …

"Lucy, are you okay?"

Startled so suddenly by Wyatt's voice, Lucy spun her head to see his blue eyes gazing at her worriedly as he brought the car to a stop at a red light. He reached out his hand to gently hold hers.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you," he apologized softly.

She gave him a small smile. "It's okay."

He smiled back. "Why don't you get some more sleep? I think you had one nightmare after another last night."

"I don't know if I can," she admitted with a shaky inhale. "Every time I close my eyes, I keep seeing my mom's face…and Noah's."

Wyatt hated seeing Lucy like this. He wanted to help her get through the pain she was feeling. Then a solution of how he could came to him.

"Lucy, I might have an idea of how I can help, but only if you want to."

She nodded her head.

"Do you want to talk about what happened last night?" he asked carefully as he started to resume driving.

He felt Lucy jump slightly beside him and her grip of his hand tightened. He quickly turned his head toward hers.

"Only if you want to, Luce," he reassured her.

Lucy remained silent for a minute. "Help me get over the hump, again, right?"

Wyatt chuckled softly. "Right."

Lucy chuckled too, remembering how this technique of his had helped her the first time in Nazi Germany. She took a slow breath and gave a small nod. "Okay…"

* * *

 _Her phone nearly slipped out of her hand when she spun around in time to see her mom return followed by—_

 _"_ _Noah?"_

 _The next thing Lucy knew, the room was tilting and everything went dark._

 _Opening her eyes slowly, she found herself lying on her bed in her room. She brought herself to a sitting position when Noah walked through the doorway with a glass of water in his hand._

 _"_ _Oh, Lucy, you're awake," he said, his voice actually sounding sincere. "You scared me for a moment there."_

 _He took a few steps toward her, but the sudden memory of the name her mom called him came back to her and she suddenly scooted away when he was standing in front of her. She saw the surprised and confused look on his face. Quickly, she covered her mistake by taking the glass from his hand and asks where her mom was._

 _"_ _She had to leave because of an unexpected…situation that came up," he responded, reaching out his hand toward her face._

 _Lucy scrambled away from him again. "Noah, I told you, I can't be with you. We're over."_

 _He just gave a dry chuckle. "You really think you can easily get out of this just by saying 'we're over'? Sorry, Lucy, but Rittenhouse, will see that the direct descendant of its founder be married to a strong Rittenhouse family member."_

 _So it's true; Noah really is, as her mom called him, "the son of Rittenhouse". And he thinks that she just gonna accept it and let this evil organization force her to go with an arranged marriage? Like hell that's happening!_

 _Strong bile filled Lucy. "Listen to me, Noah," she hissed through gritted teeth. "I will_ never _marry you; no matter what you or my mother say! And as for Rittenhouse, my friends and I will stop them!"_

 _A sadistic grin spread across his face. "Oh, I find that very hard to believe because of the fact that your friends are probably dead by now."_

 _Suddenly Lucy's heart stopped, her eyes grew wide with disbelief._

 _"_ _That's right, Lucy," Noah gloated evilly. "Rittenhouse has sent some of its best soldiers to burn Mason Industries to the ground and destroy the Lifeboat…and to take care of anyone that tries to stop them."_

 _"_ _No!—no, you're lying!"Lucy started to race toward the door, but Noah's hand roughly grabbed her arm and spun her around to face him._

 _"_ _Going somewhere, babe?"_

 _Lucy struggled to free herself, but before she knew it, she was flung back onto the bed and Noah practically pounced on top of her._

 _"_ _Get off of me, you bastard!" she cried as her fists started to hit him anywhere they came in contact of._

 _"_ _Where's your soldier boy toy now, honey?" Noah jeered before pressing his mouth on to hers. Lucy let out a muffled, surprised shriek and blindly reached out her hand and grabbed hold of a large décor lamp on her bedside nightstand. Swinging with all of her might, the object made a direct hit on Noah's head, smashing loudly on impact. Immediately, the doctor released Lucy and pressed his hand on the bloody wound, groaning in pain. Without hesitation, Lucy wiggled free out from under him and, tried again, ran toward the door._

 _Noah recovered from her attack quickly and grabbed the back of her neck. A yelp slipped out from Lucy when she felt the stinging sensation of something cutting her neck before she became face to face with Noah, his eyes were glaring at her furiously._

 _"_ _You shouldn't have done, Lucy," he seethed in a dangerously low voice right before his hand suddenly slapped across her face and shoved her onto the floor._

 _Lucy didn't know if the scream that came out of her mouth was because the painful slapped or the rough shove to the floor or both. Her head spinning and her vision darken, only her hearing told her that Noah was over her again, his hands were tightly clutching her arms._

 _"_ _Noah, please—!"_

 _Suddenly, eyes still closed, she felt Noah tensing up above her and heard him curse quietly. His hot breath was on her face when he whispered into her ear. "This isn't over, Lucy Preston. You will be my wife; Rittenhouse will make sure of it."_

 _The next thing she knew, Noah released her at the same time as she vaguely heard the sound of a loud smash from downstairs. Lucy opened her eyes to find herself alone in her room. The sound of running footsteps filled her with even more fear._

 _Rittenhouse!_

 _Quickly and quietly as she could she crawled into her closet and hid in corner, trying to make herself as small as possible…_

* * *

"…and that was when you found me."

Bringing the terrible story to an end; Lucy became aware of two things. Sharing with Wyatt about what happened had brought the feeling of a two ton weight being lifted off of her chest. And she was aware of the gradual loss of feeling in her hand. She looked over to see Wyatt's grip on the steering wheel was tightening until his knuckles were turning white, as was the one holding her hand.

After hearing her story, Wyatt could feel a whole new wave of hatred for the doctor bastard wash all over him. Now he was even more determined than ever to put a bullet in the guy's head.

"Uh—Wyatt?" Lucy's voice called out, breaking his murderous thoughts.

Wyatt's eyes met Lucy's, and then she indicated them down to where their hands were joined. The moment he saw that his grip was unintentionally and unconsciously squeezing her hand until it was slightly starting to turn purple, he felt his stomach twist tightly.

He automatically released her hand. "I'm so sorry, Lucy! I didn't mean to—"

Lucy quickly grabbed his hand again, squeezing it back. "I know, Wyatt, its okay. I know you would never hurt me."

Wyatt could hear the truth in her words and seeing the absolute trust in her eyes. That was when he realized that his love for her grew even more. A genuine, loving grin spread on his face. Just then, he remembered something. Breaking the hand contact, he reached into his pocket and pulled out Lucy's locket.

Her brown eyes grew wide and her hand went to her throat.

"Oh, my God," she gasped breathlessly as she took the necklace and held it in her hand. "I didn't even realize that I wasn't wearing it. I—"

She stopped when she examined it closely and noticed that the chain it was on was now sliver, not gold. Lucy looked up at Wyatt, confused.

"Yeah, the gold chain was broken when I found it," Wyatt explained. "So I, um, replaced it with the one that held my Army dog tags. I hope that's okay with you."

Lucy's heart melted when she heard his sweet gesture.

"Wyatt, of course it's okay," she whispered as her eyes started to fill with happy tears. "This was probably one of the thoughtful thing anyone has ever done for me. Thank you so much."

"You're welcome," he replied with a grin.

She gave him as identical grin. The sunlight felt so warm on her skin and she could feel the lack of sleep was finally taking control of her. "And thank you for helping me get over the hump…again."

The grin on Wyatt's face then turned into his signature smirk that Lucy found herself loving more and more every time she sees it. "Anything for you, ma'am."

Her body was relaxing as her head gently fell against the passenger window and her eyes closed, but right before mumbling, "Stop calling me ma'am…"

But the two of them both knew that she didn't mean it.

* * *

After managing to get a few peaceful hours of sleep, Lucy was gently woken up to see the handsome face with a pair of beautiful blue eyes of Wyatt Logan, telling her that they made it to the rendezvous. Getting out of the car, she could see that they were surrounded by trees and could make out the peaks of the San Gorgonio Mountain. The two of them and Jiya followed Agent Christopher down into, what Lucy believed to be, an underground bunker, until they were greeted by a very much relieved Rufus. After the group exchanged hugs and (in Jiya's case as being his girlfriend) kisses, he lead them to a large open space where their eyes could see several computers on a couple of tables, some chairs, wires all over the place, and the biggest elephant of all, the Lifeboat sitting right in the middle. Conner Mason appeared into the room and he and Rufus together told them the latest update since they were last seen.

Mason delivered the devastating news that his company has been burned completely to the ground and that he has had no word yet on any of his other employees. He stated that one of the company's protocols was that in the case of an attack, like last night, was that everyone was to, at best, get out of the building or get to a safe location and inform security and Mason himself. And if one has not sent out the word in twelve to twenty four hours, the protocol next step was to contact the employees' families and then the authorities.

"As of now, my friends," the tech mogul sighed solemnly, bringing his grave news to an end. "We are on our own."

The news of the unknown whereabouts of the other MI techs and workers had everyone concerned, but Lucy could see that Jiya and Rufus were visibly affected the most. She could understand why; they were friends and colleagues for years, all which got the privilege of working on a freaking time machine for the famous entrepreneur.

After a minute of discouraging silence, Rufus broke it by clearing his throat uncomfortably and went on to explain his piece of information, starting with the bad news.

"What bad news?" the four new comers asked at the same time.

But right before Rufus could explain, a small, but loud, bang came from the Lifeboat. The group all looked at the machine; that was when Lucy now noticed a hole on one side of it. Even from where she was standing she could see the wires hanging out and sparks flying everywhere. Now she was not an engineer but even she could see that was not supposed to be there.

"Despite the fact that I was able to get the Lifeboat jump to this location," Rufus continued as he turned his attention back to the others. "The bad news is that one of those Rittenhouse jackasses' grenades, somehow, got sucked into the temporal pull sequence the exact moment I made the jump. Lucky for me, the gravitational pull of the jump managed to suspend the grenade to go off. Which it did, obviously, the second I landed here."

Both Lucy and Jiya exchanged anxious looks at each other, as did Agent Christopher.

"Can it be fixed?" Wyatt asked with a sharp exhale, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Well…" Rufus confessed in a slight high voice, dragging the word while rubbing the back of his neck uncomfortably. "In a way, technically, probably yes. This place has the majority of equipment we would need. But we'll need some a few other things."

Christopher nodded once. "I'll have some of my people take care of that. How long do you think it's going to take repair this thing?"

Both Rufus and Mason looked at each other for a minute.

"Well, from what we can see," Conner admitted. "The damage is not too severe, as to comparing it from the bad luck you lot faced from the 1754 mission."

"At our best guess," Rufus continued. "With the right equipment, it could take maybe two months to fix. That is, if, _and I mean if_ , no other problems pop up while we work on it."

Two months? Lucy could feel the steady rise of a panic attack building inside. With Rittenhouse in control of the Mothership, who knows what kind of damage they could do to history during that time? And all the while this small rebellion she and her band of friends had seemingly formed is pretty much forced to sit aside until they fix their one defense to stop the evil organization.

Before her worry could spike to another level, Lucy felt Wyatt putting a comforting hand on her shoulder. Without looking up at him, she simply reached up and placed her hand on top of his and gave it a small squeeze, silently informing him that she's okay.

* * *

Six Weeks Later…

As the days turned into weeks while being forced to stay in (as Wyatt called it) the hell hole bunker, Lucy was starting to feel the signs of cabin fever. And it was clear that the others were feeling the same, but not as much her. Rufus, Jiya, and Mason managed to keep themselves occupied by repairing the Lifeboat. Denise sort of became the "mom" of the group and used her government contacts to get the necessarily supplies and give news about what's been happening in the outside world. It was from her that they learned that the explosion of Mason Industries was ruled out as accidental, obviously covered up by Rittenhouse. It was also when she showed them a newspaper with the headline saying that twenty two MI employees were killed. The headline itself brought Mason into a deep depression for two weeks, as his sans communication from any of his other employees finally made sense.

Wyatt and Lucy kept each other company by playing board or card games, watching movies, or just talking. When Wyatt was needed for any kind of heavy lifting on the Lifeboat or cooking meals for everybody, Lucy managed to keep herself distracted by reading books Denise managed to get for them or by helping out in any way she could. One was looking up locations of costume shops. Because the explosion destroyed the wardrobe dock, the time team was lacking in the department of suitable period clothing. Over the six weeks, she managed to find a fair number of costumes for the team and then have Denise pick them up. It wasn't as impressive as Mason's collection was when he first showed them before they went on the Nazi Germany mission, but it was close enough. And if she was really bored, she even made sure that the clothes were made with the correct kind of material of the era, including the correct kinds of corsets, petticoats, underwear, and bras for her.

"Honestly, Luce, whose gonna see your bra?" Wyatt asked her when he found out.

Lucy's mind was instantly brought back to the day of the time team's first mission. She couldn't help but laugh at the same words Wyatt annoyingly pointed out back then and now.

"Well, excuse me, Master Sergeant, for taking every precaution in order to make us blend in as much as possible," She snapped at him, although there was not much bite in her words.

"Yeah, sure, that's good and all, as we time travelers don't want to attract too much attention," Wyatt admitted before leaving the room with probably his most smug smirk. "But if you're gonna be free of any underwire bras, let's hope that you'll have at least a hair pin or something on you the next time we get captured and locked in a jail cell."

He was gone before Lucy could fully comprehend what he just said and retaliate with her own come back. But once she did, she found herself alone and begrudgingly admitted to herself that he had a point.

* * *

Despite knowing the danger of Rittenhouse out in the world looking for them and the Lifeboat, the solider in Wyatt was getting restless. Sure he did his best to keep himself busy with any small, meager task he could find to do. And he honestly was enjoying the time he and Lucy were spending together, whether it was getting his ass kicked while playing Scrabble with her, laughing at her poor ability to bluff in a game of poker, how comfortably they cuddle next to each other together while watching movies, or simply when they just talk. But like everyone else, being cooped up was getting to him. Fortunately, just when he thought he was going to lose it, Rufus nearly ran into him, excitedly informing him that the Lifeboat was finally repaired. Feeling the most at ease for the first time in six weeks since they went into hiding, Wyatt quickly went to look for Lucy and tell her the good news.

He found her lounging on the couch the common room, reading. She must have heard him entering the room because she quickly sat up and slid the book behind her.

"Wyatt, is something wrong?" she asked.

"No, ma'am, I just came to tell you that the Lifeboat if finally fixed," he answered with a grin as he walked up and sat in front of her on the coffee table.

"Oh, thank God!" exclaimed Lucy with a relived sigh. "I don't know how much longer I can stand doing nothing while Rittenhouse is doing only God knows what to history with the Mothership!"

Wyatt gave an amused chuckle before leaning over to see what book she hid behind her back. "What were you reading there?" he asked as he reached out his hand, but Lucy quickly blocked him.

"Nothing," she said, suddenly blushing and looking…nervous?

Wyatt cocked an eyebrow at her, giving him a look that was clearly saying, _you-wanna- try-that-again-ma'am?_

After a minute he watched her give a defeated sigh as she reached out behind her before reluctantly pulling out what she was reading. Wyatt's breath caught in his throat when he saw the small, black book Lucy held out in front of them. He only saw it once in his life, back in 1972, but he recognized it immediately. How could he forget it? Flynn used that damn journal to taunt him while he was being held hostage.

He looked up at her. "What are you doing with this thing, Luce?"

She hesitated at first. "Flynn gave it back to me on the day he—he was arrested. And I figured that while we can't go after Rittenhouse until the Lifeboat was fixed, I thought reading this would help by figuring out where we can hit them next time and have the upper hand."

Wyatt thought for a minute, he had to admit that it was a good plan.

Just then Jiya rushed into the room looking flustered and told them that they needed to come see what she, Rufus, and Mason just found out. Wyatt and Lucy gave each other identical worried expressions before following Jiya into the main area that they were now calling the control room. They found Rufus and Mason facing one of the computers, both looking on edge, with a concern looking Agent Christopher hovering next to them. Turning around, Rufus told them that now that the Lifeboat is repaired, Mason was able to come up with an algorithm to hack into the Mothership's CPU, but before revealing the bad news that during the last six weeks, Rittenhouse had made a number of jumps into the past.

Lucy gave a tiny gasp at the news, looking horrified. Wyatt wrapped an arm around her shoulder and rubbed his hand on her soothingly.

"But that's not the weird part," Jiya added.

Mason nodded. "Apparently, once Rittenhouse made each of these jumps, they were only in the past for at least fifteen minutes before returning to the present."

"What the hell could Rittenhouse be up to for being in the past for only just fifteen minutes on these jumps?" asked Agent Christopher.

"Well, ma'am," Wyatt answered. "This is Rittenhouse we're talking about, and we all know that they're capable of doing something destructive in a mere fifteen minutes or less."

Denise just gave him an exasperated huff before turning back to the techs. "When and where in the past did Rittenhouse jump to?"

Jiya turned and started typing on another computer. "We haven't been able to get an exact location of where they've jump to expect for that a majority of them are in North America, one somewhere in Europe, and one in the middle Alaska. As for when, a lot were during the mid 1800s, and the rest of them are to the early to 1900s."

Everyone looked at each other in an uneasy silence.

"Again, what the hell is Rittenhouse up to?" Denise repeated.

Suddenly a loud buzzing sound went off, causing everyone to jump.

Rufus recovered the quickest and started typing on the computer, informing everyone that Mothership just jumped. Together with Jiya and Mason, they informed them that Rittenhouse jumped to November 5, 1860. Everyone turned to look at Lucy.

"I don't know about that exact date," she admitted slowly. "But it's a day right before when Abraham Lincoln wins the 1860 United States Presidential Election."

No one said anything while Lucy's words slowly started to sink in.

"Yeah, that sounds bad," Rufus said quietly.

"Well, people," announced Agent Christopher, with authority sounded in her voice for the first time in six weeks. "We now have a working time machine and it's about time we use it to fight these sons of bitches." She turned her attention to the time team. "So you three go get suited up and into the Lifeboat quickly."

* * *

 _Arthur's Note: So that's how I'm going to go with how it can follow season two. I hope it was good. And again sorry for the disturbing parts with Lucy and Noah to those who didn't want to read that._

 _Anyway, I'll work on the next chapter and it'll kick off with the actual time traveling parts of the story and have it posted as soon as I can!_


	6. Chapter 6

_Arthur's Note: Hey, Timeless friends, I'm back! First of all, I apologize for the long update, I got stupid writer's block AGAIN and by the time I got an idea on how I wanted the chapter to go, I had to do some research because this chapter covers stuff that happened during the Civil War and, unfortunately, that is one point in history I don't know a lot of. Lucky for me, my dad loves that time period and was able to help me with some information and with some ideas, so I would like to thank him for this chapter._

 _On another note, I'm grieving with all of ya'll at the fact that our beloved show got freaking cancelled AGAIN! But I guess I can live with the fact that we're going to get a two-hour movie to wrap it up. I mean, the way they ended the show with (sorry, spoiler alert!) Rufus getting killed and then future Wyatt and Lucy showing up and then leave us hanging with that?! UN-ACCEPT-ABLE! Oh, well, it was still a good season; favorite episodes were Hollywood Land (except for the ending, obviously), the Kennedy Cure, and the King of Delta Blues._

 _Anyhoo, here is chapter 6, enjoy!_

* * *

Chapter 6

Dozing in and out in front of her computer for the last several hours later, Jiya was startled awake by the sudden burst of air as the Lifeboat appeared out of nowhere.

"They're back!" she called over her shoulder and quickly rushed over to push the metal stairwell toward the time machine. Mason and Christopher came into the room as the Lifeboat's hatch door opened. Lucy popped her head out and immediately asked who won the 1860 United States Presidential Election.

Mason quickly started typing on a computer, but Agent Christopher answered her question. "Abraham Lincoln, of course, everyone one knows that."

"Oh, thank God!" Lucy cried with relief, one hand grasping the stairwell and the other pressed to her chest, gasping for air. Wyatt was by her side in a flash, whispering in her ear to breathe slowly.

Christopher gave a confused look at the trio. "What exactly happened?"

"Oh, nothing much," Rufus commented with a mocked shrug as he stepped down the stairwell and wrapped an arm around Jiya's shoulders. "Just the fact that Emma and her goons killed one of the candidates, surprisingly not Lincoln, and then tried to rig the election so some pro-slavery dick could win. You know, typical Rittenhouse ways to screw up history."

"Are you referring to The Great 1860 Election Scandal?" Mason inquired.

"The _what_?" Lucy squeaked at him with wide-eyes.

Wyatt tensed up himself a little and Rufus looked back and forth from Mason and his friends. The room became uncomfortably silent for a minute.

"Alright," Christopher huffed, shaking her head. "You three, in the debriefing room, now."

For the next few hours, the Time Team gave a detailed account of what happened. The moment they arrived in 1860, they were slammed with the shocking news that there was a murder among one the Presidential candidates. Lucy gave an involuntarily shudder at the memory of her about to have a complete meltdown because she thought they were already too late, that Rittenhouse had killed Lincoln, and completely annihilated history as they knew it. But to their absolute relief, and confusion, it turned out that the candidate that was killed was not Lincoln, but Democratic nominee, Stephen A. Douglas.

"Why the hell would Rittenhouse go after Douglas, instead of Lincoln?" Christopher asked.

"I think I have a theory about that," Lucy stated. She explained that politics were pretty much in shambles during 1860-1865, and Rittenhouse uses politics as a cover to secretly control America. Slavery and state rights were the main issues during the election. A majority of the North states were Republicans, while there were some who were Democrats supporters, and the South was mostly supporters of the opposing political party. The Democrat party was pretty much broken into two in the Northerner and Southerner states. The Southerner Democrats were firm believers that slavery should be expanded and have the right to govern themselves on their own. Northerner Democrats were against slavery and supported the Union and a national government.

"So what you're saying is that Rittenhouse was divided too?" Christopher questioned.

Lucy nodded her head. "Consequentially, the Civil War resulted to be its weakest moment in history."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, ma'am, the way we figured," Wyatt answered. "Rittenhouse is all about control. They have that if America is one nation. That wouldn't happen if some states declared themselves separate."

"And it's no shock that the bastards are evil enough to be supporters of slavery," Rufus bitterly snide. Jiya reacted to his comment by snaking her arm around his and affectionately laying her head on to his shoulder, with a somber expression on her face.

Lucy and Wyatt glanced at each other with the same look. For a minute, everyone was quiet until Christopher asked them to continue explaining what happened during the mission.

Once the team found out that Douglas was dead, they were able to track down Emma and her goons, attempting to rig the ballots so John C. Breckinridge, the Southerner Democrat nominee and a big time slavery and state's rights supporter, to win in a landslide. Emma got away, of course, and unfortunately, a number (but not all) of the fake ballots for Breckinridge were already counted for. The authorities came in and almost arrested the Time Team, believing that they were rigging the election. But fortunately for them, they were able to prove their innocents and leave to return to the Lifeboat.

Mason's eyes quickly skimmed through a detailed history website that confirmed everything they just reported. He read out loud the key notes of, the now new piece of history to the Time Team, The Great 1860 Election Scandal. A murdered Presidential nominee; a devious, sabotage plot discovered and stopped in time, and the biggest aspect of the whole thing was that a last minute vote was cast, resulting Lincoln to beat Breckinridge by just one vote.

In the corner of her eye, Lucy saw Wyatt suddenly getting stiff in his seat as he cleared his throat uncomfortably. Rufus let out a small sound that distinctly sounded like a laugh before immediately being covered up by a cough. Jiya looked at him with confusion, but her boyfriend gave her a look that patently said _I'll explain later._ Thankfully, neither Mason nor Christopher seemed to have notice and they were all dismissed. Separated from the others, as Lucy changed back into her regular clothes, she wondered about Wyatt's sudden behavior change at the mentioned of Lincoln's one spare vote. Thinking back, she remembered the three of them leaving the ballot office, her talking to the boys about potential, horrifying outcomes for alternate history if Lincoln didn't win. She remembered being on the verge of a panic attack when she found that she was talking to just Rufus by the time the two of them made it to the Lifeboat and noticed that Wyatt was not with them. But her breathing settled when the Delta Force soldier followed behind into view a few minutes later. He quickly assured them both that he was fine, just needed to take care of something not important. Normally Lucy would wanted to know what he was talking about, but the historian in her was demanding that they return to the present and see how much unknown damage was caused to America, (assuming that it will still be the America they knew).

Suddenly it came to her. With eyes wide open and gasping laughs of amazement, Lucy dashed out of her room and went to find Wyatt, only to abruptly collide into the man himself as she came around a corner. Being a natural klutz, Lucy found herself started to tumble down on to the ground. Fortunately, Wyatt's soldier reflexes caught her by the arms in a millisecond. Taken by surprise, Lucy stared up at his stunned face, and then watched it etch with amusement.

"Whoa, slow your roll, Professor," he said with his signature smirk as he lifted her up back to her feet. "We're not even on a mission and already I need to save you from being clumsy once again."

Blushing, Lucy responded to his teasing with a dry laugh. "Ha, ha, very funny, Master Sergeant. And that wasn't clumsiness that was, uh — just being caught off guard. And besides, I've saved you a few times too if you care to remember; the Alamo, Watergate."

"Yeah, I remember," he nodded his head, taking her hand and led them down the hall to the common room. "And I'm grateful everyday that you have."

"Me too."

Wyatt gave her a small smile, but then she caught a mischief gleam in his blue eyes. "But I also recall you were the one who clumsily fell through a window before saving me."

Lucy's jaw dropped and stared at him for a second before shaking her head with a scoff. "Ugh, you just _had_ to bring that up. You're never gonna let me live that down, are you?"

Instead of answering, he just gave playful shrug as he sat down on to the couch and gestured for her to sit next him. After rolling her eyes at him, feeling slightly annoyed, she complied with her arms crossed. For a minute they sat in silence until Lucy glanced up and found him looking back at her with a grin slowly spreading. The adorable, pouty look on her was something he definitely found appealing. Another thing to confirm his love for the woman next to him. He laughed softly at her. Lucy looked straight into his beautiful blue eyes and soon found herself laughing back, the scowl on her face slowly melting away.

"So…" Lucy began as she scooted closer to his side and placed her hand into his. "How does it feel to know that you've helped Lincoln become president by just one vote?"

Wyatt was impressed that she figured out what he did so quickly. He gave a nonchalant shrug and looked down at their joined hands. "Eh, felt like any other election."

"Oh, really?" she questioned with a skeptical raised eyebrow.

"Yeah. But I knew that Lincoln becoming president was important to history," he admitted as his thumb carelessly drew circles on top of her hand. Then he brought his eyes up to hers. "And to you."

Wyatt's sincere words made Lucy suddenly aware of two things: her cheeks became hot from blushing and…there was something else. Something warm started in the pit of her stomach and she could have sworn she felt a pang in her heart. The kind that you would feel if you were…Could she dare herself to even admit it? This feeling she was suspecting was something she was not really familiar with. Sure she has been in a few relationships but nothing serious. And with Noah, well, it was a try and fail thing (although now she knows that their so-called relationship/engagement was all because of Rittenhouse). But Wyatt Logan is different. So maybe the answer to what she's feeling could actually be—oh, who was she kidding? She knew what it was.

After all they've been through with time traveling and Rittenhouse, and after hearing what he did for history and for her, Lucy Preston could no longer deny the truth that she was in love with Master Sergeant Wyatt Logan.

Lucy slowly released her hand from his and laid it on his chest, just above his heart. She gazed up and in his eyes she saw it: the undeniable look of…Could it really be? How could she be sure? She wanted to ask, but a tiny voice in her head cautioned her not to…not yet. Instead, she pulled her feet up and tucked them under her legs, then tenderly placed her head on to his shoulder and snuggled closer.

"Thank you, Wyatt," she said softly.

"Your welcome, Lucy," Wyatt whispered back, gently wrapping his arms around her tiny body and tilting his head so that it would rest on top of hers.

The two of them cuddled next to each other in absolute, content silence for who knows how long, both finding that they didn't practically cared. In that moment, Wyatt could actually feel true peacefulness consume him, something he had not felt since his time with Jessica. It had been too damn long since he held a woman in his arms like this; even longer when it was a woman that he loved. That feeling slowly returned to his memory as he softly hugged her even closer to him and breathed in the sweet scent in her hair. If time could stand still, this is where he would want to be.

Just then the sound of someone clearing their throat made the two of them jump apart and to find Rufus and Jiya staring at them from the doorway of the common room. Rufus looked a little embarrassed while Jiya had a mischievous, Chester Cat's grin plastered across her face.

"Are we interrupting something?" she asked in faux innocence.

 _Uh, yes, actually!_ Wyatt thought inside his head, already missing Lucy's warmth next to him.

"No!" Lucy squeaked in a slight high pitch voice, before clearing her throat and then answered in a more calm tone. "No, not at all. We were just talking about the mission. Right, Wyatt?"

Wyatt gave a small exasperated sigh before reluctantly answering. "Yeah…the mission."

"Uh-huh, _sure_ you were," Jiya teased in an obvious, unconvinced voice.

Rufus rolled his eyes at his relentless girlfriend before asking their two friends if they want to join them for a game of Trivia Pursuit and that the winner can pick the movie to watch later that night. Lucy and Wyatt looked at each other, both with identical grins and then agreed to their friend's offer. In the end, Lucy won, resulting from the fact that she was the only one to answer the one history question that the others couldn't ("Oh, come on!" all three of her friends cried out at the same time in dismay). Deciding to take pity on them, Lucy searched through what sci-fi films Netflix had to offer and she settled on the 1976 film, _Logan's Run_ (and also kind of to play a joke on Wyatt's name). Jiya and Rufus were immediately satisfied with her choice. Right before the movie started, Wyatt admitted to Lucy that he was a little surprised that she would pick this particular film; since she has always classified herself as a history nerd. She chastised him that she was willing to compromise when it came to movies.

"And beside, there's some interesting history about this film and the book it's based on," she stated proudly.

Wyatt gave a tiny chuckle and asked with a cynical smile. "And what's this ' _interesting history'_ I can see you clearly want to tell?"

Lucy rolled her eyes at him before continuing. "One of the themes both the book and film explores is human overpopulation, which was one of the popular topics used in 1970s films. And for another thing, a number of scenes were filmed in several buildings in Dallas, Texas, and one at the famous Fort Worth Water Gardens."

Wyatt couldn't help but smile that once again, Lucy's encyclopedia brain truly surprised and amazed him.

"Yeah, sure, Lucy, that's all fascinating," Jiya declared in a blasé tone. "But now I would like to start enjoying a classic sci-fi movie with you two and my boyfriend before the Mothership jumps again."

"Yeah," agreed Rufus as he pressed the play button and the film began. "Hopefully during sometime that isn't in the 1800s."

* * *

Unfortunately, a few days later, Emma and Rittenhouse had completely different ideas. The loud blaring alarm went off in the early morning and the Time Team was informed that the Mothership jumped to September 17, 1862 in Sharpsburg, Maryland.

"Oh, my God, no!" Lucy cried out softly, her hands pressed to the side of her head as she started to pace around in circles, feeling a panic attack coming.

"We're going back to the Civil War again. Yay," Rufus stated sarcastically.

"Not only that, but September 17, 1862 was the Battle of Antietam," Wyatt grimly pointed out. "The bloodiest day during the Civil War."

Even through her raising fear, Lucy couldn't help but feel impressed with Wyatt's own knowledge of military history. But the fact that they were going back in time to a day of indescribable death, violence, and blood quickly replaced any feelings of amazement with fear. Lucy's mind was barely with her when she vaguely heard Agent Christopher telling her and the guys to hurry up and get changed or while Jiya was helping her get her corset and period appropriate dress on. Her anxiety still held on to her tightly when she climbed into the Lifeboat, causing her hands to tremble as she took her seat. Wyatt and Rufus followed in after her, both dressed in Union uniforms. Once he sat in front of her, Wyatt noticed her unsettling body language right away. Gently, he took her hand into his and looked into her eyes, saying nothing, just gave a tiny reassuring smile. At that moment, Lucy felt a small pang in her heart when his affectionate gesture brought on the memory when he did the exact same thing after Lincoln's assassination. She gave a grateful smile, silently thanking him.

He grinned back and went on to secure her safety restraints on. "Don't worry, Lucy, if we survived the Alamo and the French and Indian War, we can survive this."

"Yeah," Rufus agreed as his began to flip switches to start the jump sequence. "What's one more bloody battle that doesn't kill us so we can continue to chase after these Rittenhouse jackasses? Right?"

Lucy couldn't help but chuckle at Rufus' statement, as did Wyatt. Before she knew it, Lucy saw Rufus flip the last switch and felt the Lifeboat rattling, followed by the familiar stomach twisting sensation as the three of them jumped back in time.

* * *

The Lifeboat landed near the Potomac River, about two miles away from the town of Sharpsburg, Maryland in the early afternoon. Once Lucy and the guys recovered from the usual queasiness feeling from the rough landing into the past, they started walking toward the sound of cannons and rifles firing.

"So, guys, who was the winning side of this battle and where do you think we'll find Emma among all of the shooting and dead bodies?" Rufus asked in a nervous voice.

"It's unclear on who was the technical winner of the Battle of Antietam, also known as the Battle of Sharpsburg to the South," Lucy began as her historian mode kicked in. "There were over 23,000 casualties because CSA General Lee's army of 45,000 were greatly outnumbered by McClellan's Union army of 87,000. But the strategic winner was the North. In the end, Lee withdrew his troops from Maryland and was never seen there again."

"CSA means Confederate States of America," Wyatt explained, seeing Rufus' confused expression. "And as for Emma, my best guess would be that she could be among Lee's army and giving out the Confederates weapons from the future to make sure they win."

The Time Team made it to the top of a hill that looked down at the entire battle ground. Smoke from cannons and rifles hung thickly among the area and everywhere you looked, a dozen of soldiers dropped dead on to the ground. Wyatt pushed his two friends to the ground and pulled out three binoculars out of his bag and handed them out.

"You brought _modern_ binoculars to the Battle of Antietam?" Lucy chastised him with annoyance.

"My apologies, ma'am, but my order for Civil War style spyglasses from EBay didn't arrived at the bunker before we left," Wyatt impatiently responded back. But Lucy caught the slight, tell-tale sign of a smirk in the corner of his mouth. "Anyway, I thought it would be better to be at a good distance away from flying bullets and cannon balls and use these to find Emma."

"Yeah, I say we follow Wyatt's idea and use the modern binoculars," Rufus insisted, bring the device to his eyes and started surveying the area, as did Wyatt.

Lucy rolled her eyes with a defeated sigh and proceeded to look for a certain red head among the battle.

For nearly an hour, the three of them watched the horror show playing out in front of them. Much to their relief, Wyatt informed his friends that from what he could tell, he didn't see any Confederates with any powerful machine guns that wouldn't be around for another century. So they concluded that that was not Emma's reason for being there. Throughout the whole time, Lucy's gaze found a number of different commanders on each side. But when she followed Major General Ambrose Burnside pushing his Union regiment toward a stone bridge, her eyes caught the sight of long, fiery red hair blown in the wind on another hill.

"I found her!" she cried, directing the guys to where she saw the evil Rittenhouse agent.

"Great! So let's try to sneak up on her and let Wyatt take her out and we can get the hell out of here, _please_?" suggested Rufus as he started crawl away. "If I see another guy getting torn into pieces by bullets and shrapnel or losing his head by a cannonball one more time, I'm gonna puke!"

The others were about to follow when Wyatt suddenly stopped and brought his gaze back on Emma.

"What is it?" Lucy worriedly asked. "Wyatt? What's she doing now?"

He didn't answer at first. "That's the thing; she's not doing anything; just watching the battle like us."

Completely dumbstruck, both Lucy and Rufus got down again and spotted Emma who was indeed lying low to the ground about a hundred yards away from them and watching the battle with her own binoculars. Just then loud shouts filled the air as a very large division of Confederates abruptly appeared and were slowly advancing on Burnside's men. All of a sudden, alarms were going off in Lucy's brain.

 _No, no, no, no! This isn't right! Burnside is suppose to take the bridge and then fight—_

Then it came to her.

"What time is it now?" she urgently demanded.

Wyatt quickly pulled out a pocket watch and took one gaze at it before bringing his eyes back to Emma. "Uh, a little after two. Why?"

Lucy didn't answer him, instead she turned her head to Rufus. "Did any of those previous jumps that Rittenhouse made during those six weeks come close to this day?"

Rufus thought for a minute. "Um, yeah, one was about four days ago."

With that, Lucy pounced onto her feet and started running back to the Lifeboat. Completely surprised at first, Wyatt and Rufus stared at her before following right behind. They called out her name over and over but she refused to stop. Just when they were almost to the Lifeboat, Wyatt finally caught her by the arm and got her to stop. When he saw the expression on her face, he felt his heart skip a beat. Her brown eyes were wide as marbles with a sense of urgent determination in them, her flushed face was covered with sweat, and she was panting heavily. In the corner of his eye, he saw Rufus also tensing up as he too watched Lucy with bewilderment.

"Lucy, Lucy, I need you to calm down and breathe," Wyatt said as he locked his gaze on hers and began to rub her arms soothingly. Watching her carefully, he felt his own breath slowing down as Lucy's breathing began to match his with steady inhales and exhales.

"Geez, Lucy, would you mind telling us what that was all about?" demanded Rufus.

Instead of answering, Lucy took one more inhale before asking another question. "Did you guys see that division of Confederates that suddenly appeared and started fighting the Unions near the stone bridge that was close to where we saw Emma?"

Both Wyatt and Rufus nodded their heads.

"Those Confederates were being led by A. P. Hill," Lucy explained. "The Unions down there were under Major General Ambrose Burnside. Burnside is supposed to take the bridge, which will be named after him."

"And then Hill arrives with reinforcements for the South and pushes back with a counterattack," Wyatt went on.

"Right," Lucy confirmed. "But Hill's division isn't supposed to arrive until about 3:30 pm."

Both of the guys slowly became wide eyed at what she just told them. Rufus quickly rushed to the Lifeboat and climbed in. The other two followed and stopped in front of the time machine as their friend popped his head back out of the hatch with an alarmed expression."Guys, its 2:15 pm now. This guy, Hill, and his division arrived early."

Wyatt let out a sharp exhale and started to pace. "So, somehow, Emma changed the events so the South could get an extra push. And from the looks of it back there, it looks like they were winning."

"But how could she?" Rufus pointed out as he jumped down next to Lucy. "Wyatt, you were the one who said that it looked like she was just watching the battle. And I seriously doubt that a group of Southern soldiers would believe the word of a woman by telling them, 'Oh, hey, you need to come early and fight a bunch of enemy soldiers.' It had to be one of her goons."

"No, I don't think so. The only thing I can think of is that it has something to do with the jump Rittenhouse made that happened a few days ago, to September 13," Lucy concluded as she too began to pace. "All that happened that day was that it was very eventful for a few CSA Generals. McLaws begins an assault and then eventually takes Maryland Heights, D.H. Hill arrives at Boonboro, Jackson occupies Martinsburg and then reaches Bolivar Heights, West Virginia that night, and Walker reaches Loudon Heights in Virginia."

"The only other thing that also happened that day was the discovery of…Lee's…" Wyatt started to say until his voice began to trail off.

Lucy stopped pacing, as did Wyatt. Of course! Why didn't it come to her before? Spinning around on her heels, and seeing his wide eyes reflecting hers, the same thought came to them immediately.

"Special Orders 191!" they both exclaimed at the same time.

For a few seconds the two of them remained silent as they continued to stare at each other until Rufus cleared his throat and asked if they could clarify what they were talking about. Quickly, both of his friends explained that the Battle of Antietam happened because as part of the Maryland Campaign, General Lee moved his army of Confederates up north into Maryland in hope to get more supporters. Once there, Lee hears about a group of Union soldiers at Harper Ferry, Virginia, (now part of West Virginia). Knowing that it could lead to some unwanted interference with Lee's line of supplies, he creates an order that has his army split into four columns, sending three of them to Harpers Ferry. They were to box in and trap the Union army, eliminate the enemy, and then get the army back together.

But on September 13th, about 20 miles away from where the three of them were now, in Frederick, Maryland, two Union Indiana soldiers discovered an envelope with three cigars wrapped in a piece of paper lying in the grass at a campground that CSA General Hill had just vacated. Later that evening, the Order is brought to General McClellan.

"When McClellan came into possession of the Order," Wyatt explained. "He confided to a subordinate officer, 'Now I know what to do! Here is a paper with which, if I cannot whip Bobby Lee, I will be willing to go home.' That order gave him a big advantage, though not enough to destroy Lee's army completely."

"And because of the consequences of this discovery, Lee was caught off guard," Lucy went on for him.

"So you what do you guys think?" Rufus asked, rubbing his head. "Emma and Rittenhouse somehow got a hold of this order thing, and changed it so that it would evidentially lead the Confederates to win this battle?"

"Yes, which is something we _cannot_ let happen!" Lucy firmly stated. She went on to explain that Antietam was an important and a much needed victory for the North. It was to help stop the Confederacy getting foreign aid from Britain or France and by gaining them recognition as a separate country. If the North lost Antietam, it would most likely lead them to lose a majority of battles against the South, and the Europeans would presumably have force the Union to lift its blockade of the Southern ports. And most importantly, the North's victory of Antietam will give Lincoln the credibility to issue the Emancipation Proclamation, declaring that the Union was now waging war on slavery, which will make it impossible for Britain to help the Confederates without looking pro-slavery.

"Okay, so if we're right about this," regarded Wyatt as he tried to come up with the best solution. "The best way to fix this is to…"

It instantly hit him like lightening. Looking at Lucy, he could see the realization in her eyes. She gave him a tiny nod, silently telling him that she was thinking the same thing.

"Rufus," Wyatt sighed heavily before looking straight into his friend's eyes. "Can you get the Lifeboat to jump us back four days from today?"

For a minute, Rufus looked fixedly first at Wyatt then at Lucy before letting out a stream of truly amused laughs. "Oh, man, Wyatt! For a second there, dude, I actually thought you were serious!" But when he saw Wyatt crossing his arms in front of him with a raised eyebrow and Lucy giving him a shy smile, his shoulders dropped. "Oh, holy crap, you are serious," he groaned.

Wyatt gave a tiny grin then gestured for Rufus to continue.

The pilot began to pace and mumble rapidly in disbelief for a minute.

"Rufus!" Lucy and Wyatt said together.

Cursing under his breath and coming to a halt, Rufus answered with a defeated sigh. "Theoretically, yes, the Lifeboat can go back further into the past when it already is, just as long it's not too far back in order to prevent too much power being drained and would not be able to return to the present."

"So how much power will be used to go back four days?" Luck asked him.

Jumping back into the time machine, Rufus turned on a monitor and studied it while simultaneously working on some calculations. After a few minutes, he informed that going back four days will only use about one sixteenth of the power the Lifeboat has left.

"Right then, let's get going and try to fix this mess that Rittenhouse has created," Wyatt declared with determined confidence.

Lucy was about to concur with him when he swiftly stepped behind her, placed his hands on her waist, and lifted her up to the hatch. Suppressing a surprised squeak and feeling the heat building in her cheeks, she quickly grasped on to a handle bar and pulled herself into her seat. Wyatt heaved himself after her and sat down in his seat. He looked up and saw the beautiful blush spreading across her face, he gave a tiny wink and that smirk that made her breathless every time.

Rufus was caught off guard at first at his friend's abrupt decision before stuttering out the bad news. "Uh, guys, if we're really going to do this, you do realize that if it takes us four days to find this Special Order, fix whatever Rittenhouse has done, and we're still here by today, the seventeenth, we absolutely have to be together and get back to 2018 before the three of us—us _us_ —" he raised his arm and pointed at all three of them. "—originally arrived here."

Stiffening in his seat, Wyatt swallowed a lump in his throat and met the gaze of a wide eyed, apprehensive Lucy. Both understood what their friend was indicating. If they risk going back further into the past and do not return to their own time before they formerly arrived to the disastrous battle field, they will be under the ambiguous, but catastrophic threat of being in two places in the same timeline. He could clearly see the fear in Lucy's face, similar to the kind he saw when they were in Nazi Germany. But among all of that fear, he caught a faint glimmer of great valor in her eyes, the very same he witnessed at the Alamo. Once he saw it, he knew that her mind was made up, as was his.

"Alright, then," Lucy said then looked at Rufus. "So what time did we arrive here?"

"Oh, shit, we're really doing this," Rufus muttered, rubbing his eyes before looking back at the monitor in front of him. "Exactly at 12:45 pm."

Without saying a word, Wyatt hit the button to close the hatch and went on to adjusting Lucy's safety straps. Rufus began to prepare the launch sequence.

"Can I just say that," he began with his hand hovering over the last switch. "I'm officially gonna say that this is the craziest plan of ours ever."

"Really?" Wyatt questioned as he finished strapping himself to his seat. "I would have thought stealing the Lifeboat right from under Rittenhouse's nose would top on of all the crazy plans we've ever had."

"What about our dangerous jump from the French and Indian War?" Lucy added.

"Hey, we made it, didn't we?" Rufus argued.

"Barely," Wyatt and Lucy both mumbled together.

The pilot just rolled his eyes with a huff and flipped the last switch. At once, the three time travelers heard the rotating rings outside of the machine starting to spin and the cabin began to shake and the sickening feeling fell upon them. But it was only for a few seconds. The sound of the Lifeboat powering down after a jump filled their ears and their churning stomachs started to settle.

"That's it?" Lucy asked with a small pant.

"Yep," confirmed Rufus as his started turning off the monitors and opened the hatch door.

Wyatt gave a tiny groan as he unbuckled himself then climbed out. "Good thing we only went back four days, otherwise I think I would have started puking for doing this twice already."

"Growing a little weak on us, Master Sergeant?" Lucy teased with a grin.

Wyatt's eyes grew wide and a mocked offended expression appeared on his face as he helped her down. "Looks who talking, ma'am? You still look a little green yourself."

Lucy ducked her gaze away from his when she felt a blush forming on her cheeks, muttering something Wyatt could assume her saying, "Don't ma'am, me."

Gently, he cupped his hand under her chin and lifted her head to meet his twinkling blue eyes and that damn, teasing smirk. Seeing those features on Wyatt's handsome face, Lucy couldn't help but smile back.

 _Damn it, those eyes and that smirk are like a secret weapon of his. And those honest to God adorable dimples…_

Just then the spell between them was broken when Rufus landed right next to them. Quickly Lucy and Wyatt separated themselves and awkwardly took in their surroundings. They were in a wooded area near the town of Frederick, Maryland, right near the border of an open field.

"So what's the plan now?" Rufus asked.

Before either Lucy or Wyatt could answer the distant sound of loud voices from the field reached their ears. In sync, the three of them turned their heads toward the direction the shouting. Wyatt's stomach dropped when he glanced at Lucy and saw the concerned expression meeting his eyes. Without saying a word, he pulled out his modern pistol and crept into the field with Lucy and Rufus silently watched him from behind a tree. After scrutinizing the area for a moment, he thought the coast was clear when his keen hearing caught a cluster of shouting and a faint popping sound about a hundred yards away to his right.

With caution, he hurried over until he came upon a scene of two Union soldiers fighting and a skittish horse nearby. Suddenly Wyatt heard the same popping sound again and saw one of the soldiers seized up and dropped to the ground. The other soldier just maliciously watched the wounded soldier crawl away for a little bit before he raised the gun in his hand and pointed it to the back of the other soldier's head. That was when Wyatt saw that the weapon was a contemporary, twenty-first century pistol with a very modern silencer at the end of the barrel.

 _Rittenhouse!_

"HEY!"

At Wyatt's abrupt yell, the shocked Rittenhouse agent's head snapped up in his direction before swinging his gun out in front of him and started firing. Wyatt rolled out of the way of the silent bullets in the nick of time before firing back. After shooting at each other for a minute, Wyatt cursed under his breath when he ran out of ammo and quickly reloaded. Unfortunately for him the hindrance gave the agent enough time to make his getaway. But not before Wyatt watched him briefly picking something off of the ground and dropping something else in its place, then he rushed on to the horse.

"Oh, no, you don't," Wyatt hissed, raising his weapon and began firing as he started to advance toward the enemy. The soldier retaliated by shooting a few shots, one Wyatt literally heard flying right past his head, missing him by a millimeter. But the narrow escape caused his legs to tangle up underneath him, and crashed on to the ground. This wasn't the first time he had a very close call with flying bullets (and with this time traveling job of his, it most definitely won't be the last). Quickly recovering, he fired once more at the fleeing agent, this time, the bullet made a direct hit into the man's right arm. The man yelled out in pain and his pistol slipped out of his hand. He slumped forward on the horse's back but he grabbed the reins and kicked the horse into a run before both of them disappeared into the woods.

"Damn it," Wyatt seethed, panting heavily as he watched the man get away.

"Wyatt!"

Spinning around, he saw Lucy running towards him and Rufus right behind her. He sighed with relief, seeing that they were both alright as he holstered his gun.

"Oh, my God, Wyatt, are you okay?!" Lucy asked breathlessly, quickly placing her hands on his arms then quickly looked up and down his body for any signs of injuries.

"Yeah, I'm okay," he answered.

"Are you sure? I mean we saw you fall and—"

Just then the sound of someone groaning nearby brought all three of their attention to the wounded soldier. Carefully they walked up to see him lying on his back and his shaking hands trying to keep pressure on the gunshot wound in his stomach. When they got closer, they saw that there was another soldier next to him, dead. Getting down on to his knees, Wyatt's military training kicked in.

"Hey, hey, buddy, you're going to be okay," he said to the soldier. The man started to mumble incoherently as his face became paler and he started to shake even more from shock. Wyatt gently opened the man's jacket and shirt and checked the wound and concluded that it didn't look too bad. But then remembering his own experience with a gun shot during the Civil War, he knew that the guy was in a greater risk than ever. He brought his eyes up to Lucy, but when he saw that she was starting to look a little queasy, he remembered that she mentioned that she faints at the sight of blood. "Rufus, help me keep pressure."

"Oh, God, not again," Rufus gulped but followed Wyatt's instruction.

Lucy got on to the ground next to the guys and began to assist by lifting her skirt up and started to rip large pieces of her petticoat and then handing them to Wyatt.

"Can you tell us your name?" she asked the soldier as Wyatt pressed the fabric on to the wound.

The man groaned in pain before answering. "Corp—Corporal Barton Mitchell, of the 27th Indiana Infantry Regiment."

Lucy's heart sank. "The 27th—part of the Union XII Corps?"

Mitchell made a strangled sound in his throat but managed a small nod.

Lucy felt an oncoming panic attack creeping up inside her when she looked over her shoulder and gazed at the dead soldier, whom she was guessing had to be Sergeant John Bloss. So Rittenhouse had succeeded to kill one then attempted to do the same thing to other Union officer who discovered the Special Order, which that soldier that got away probably took with him. Just then her eye caught something in the grass a few feet away. Quickly she got on to her feet and walked over to the object. Reaching down and bringing it up to her eyes, she let out a big relieved gasp when she open it up and three cigars rolled on to her palm and that there was what appeared to be orders listed on the wrapping, ending with _"By command of General R. E. Lee, R.H. Chilton, Assistant Adjutant General"_.

But as she read the orders, her breath hitched. If her memory of reading about this infamous, missing order was correct, she saw that Rittenhouse had one order changed. Turning around on her heel, she was about to inform the guys her find when she looked up and froze. Incoming toward them was a group of several Union soldiers.

"Guys…?" she called out slowly and shoved the false order into a hidden pocket in her dress.

Together both Wyatt and Rufus looked up at the advancing group. After the three of them flagged down the group and came up with an elaborate account of what happened between Corporal Mitchell, Sergeant Bloss, and the Rittenhouse agent (covering that small detail by saying that he was most likely a Confederate spy). Once they finished, the Time Team helped the soldiers transport Mitchell and Bloss' dead body to the nearest Union corps headquarters.

On the way, Wyatt noticed that Lucy appeared to be looking anxious with her eyes to the ground and had her hand buried into her pocket.

"Hey, Lucy, are you okay?"

Lucy looked up and for a moment she considered about the telling him and Rufus about the fake order she found but thought that it would have to wait.

So instead she gave a small smile and nodded her head. "Yeah, I'm alright, but there something that I need to show you and Rufus."

He was about to asked about it but she held up her head. "Not here. Wait until we're able to talk in private."

At first Wyatt wanted to insist on what she was talking about, but his trust in her won. So he gave a small sigh and complied to her request with a nod.

"Yes, ma'am."

* * *

 _Arthur's Note: So that's a twist for the Time Team, huh? Going back in time when they were already in the past. What do you guys think of that? I think this is one of my favorite chapters so far. And on that note, it's kind of my thing to hear people's opinions on their favorite parts in movies, books, TV episodes, ECT. So if you guys still like how this fanfic is going, please give me a review and tell me what your favorite part of my story is so far._

 _And also, those small facts I mentioned about the movie Logan's Run, the human overpopulation being a popular theme during the 70's and the fact that some scenes were filmed in Dallas, Texas and at the Fort Worth Water Gardens, they're all true! And if any of you sci-fi fans haven't seen this movie, I encourage you to do so, because it is a great film, one of my favorite science fiction._

 _Until next time, I'll get working on chapter 7 and hopefully it won't take me as long ;)_


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